Abel Polese

Post-Weberian definitions see the state–individual relationship as a “do ut des” one. The state grants protection, education, medical care, and its citizens contribute labour, compliance, and taxes. When this does not occur, it is generally accepted that the citizens are deviating from state goals. However, there are cases where lack of compliance stems from the fact that society members do not feel protected by formal structures, and they rely on informal ones to replace, supplement, or even compete with state institutions. The starting point of this article is that this lack of support may result from enhanced labour mobility (and migration) across Europe, and may enhance the creation and persistence of informal practices. Taking advantage of two case studies, Romanian migrants to Spain and ethnic entrepreneurs in Croatia, we observe how governance is constructed and provide two novel interpretative frameworks. First, we explore the use of informality (informal practices) to sugge...

Our world today is experimenting a time of great power but also of tremendous resistances. Everywhere, people are brought together by similar burdens and frustration and creatively think about how to counter the forms of domination they are ascribed to. In academia as well there is an awakening among scholars to further investigate these multiple forms of resistance and equip the field with useful and empowering knowledge. This book aims at presenting some of these findings and reflecting upon the implications, social relevance, and ethical challenges of the growing field of Resistance Studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Reflecting on the results of the shadow economy survey, as conceptualized by Putnis and Sauka and implemented in Ukraine in 2019 for the first time, the goal of the current article is twofold. First, it offers an overview of the results for the years 2017 and 2018 and estimates the shadow economy in the country at 38.3% of GDP for 2017 and 38.5% for 2018. Second, it suggests possible advantages in the use of direct methods to estimate the level of the shadow economy in a country and explore the motives pushing entrepreneurs to remain in the shadow. The discussion is then framed to conceptualize the distinction between shadow economy and informality. We conclude by suggesting that a better understanding of the entangled relations lying behind the reasons to stay in the shadow can help us better address the issue and propose measures that could help bring business out of the shadow.

This short piece represents an attempt to classify informal practices with the simple goal of testing their applicability to different contexts and situations. Although more "informalities" can be “discovered”, as a starting point, the four ‘flavours’ proposed in this editorial can point at the main directions informality studies have developed and provide ‘food' for some initial reflections.

People around the globe rely on informal practices to resist, survive, care and relate to each other beyond the control and coercive presence of institutions and states. In the EU, regimes of mobility at multiple scales affect various people on the move who are pushed into informality in order to acquire social mobility while having to combat border regimes, racialization, inequalities, and state bureaucracies. This text explores how mobilities and informality are entangled with one another when it comes to responding to the social, political, and economic inequalities that are produced by border and mobility regimes. Within this frame, the ethnographic articles in this special issue go beyond national borders to connect the production of mobility and informality at multiple interconnected scales, from refugees adapting to settlement bureaucracies locally to transit migrants coping with the selective external borders of the EU, or from transnational entrepreneurs’ ability to move be...

Dans cet article est analyse comme un phenomene social davantage que politique, ce qui a ete appele la « revolution orange ». Bien que les evenements politiques restent d'une grande importance, nous allons montrer comment les protestations, leur organisation, la solidarite qu’elles ont generee et la maturation de la societe civile qui en derive, ont contribue a developper un sens d’appartenance a la « nation ukrainienne », base uniquement sur la participation politique et le desir d’un meilleur niveau de vie des citoyens. En particulier nous verrons comment, en parallele avec le projet de construction nationale porte par les elites, il existe un grand nombre de petits projets de construction nationale, en accord avec le projet de nation building (ou du moins qui ne s’y opposent pas), qui sont fondamentaux pour la creation, le developpement, et la conceptualisation d’une identite nationale a la mesure du citoyen. Cet article est issu d’une observation participante menee de longue...

Political debates on the Baltics, and in particular Estonia, have often pointed to “nationalisting” and exclusive narratives constructed at the institutional level. Accordingly, emphasis has been put on the lack of opportunities for Russians to integrate into an Estonian context. While acknowledging the shortfalls of the Estonian political project, this article contrasts these views in two ways. By emphasizing people’s agency and their capacity to question, contrast, or even reject the identity markers proposed by Estonian official narratives, we maintain that the integration of Russians might be more advanced than insofar claimed by other studies. We then look at the way identities are lived in an everyday context by inhabitants of Estonia to counterpose national narratives proposed by the state and its political institutions, with the way people live and whether they accept these narratives. By doing this, we explore the role of the everyday in the reconstruction of national ident...

Avec une population de 1.4 million d’habitants et un territoire de 45 000 kilometres carres, l’Estonie dispose d’un repertoire d’action diplomatique limite dans le systeme europeen et sur la scene globale. Neanmoins, le pays a developpe une grande capacite a faire passer ses messages, meme informellement, a travers ce qu’on appelle le marketing national (nation branding), en particulier dans un certain nombre de secteurs. Cet article examine la capacite de l’Estonie a construire un recit national et a le promouvoir au niveau international, avec des messages bases sur la cuisine nationale, la culture, l’environnement des affaires et l’accent porte sur sa capacite a developper un systeme de e-gouvernance unique au monde. Ces messages permettent de s’engager avec une diplomatie du branding pour emmener a une serie de transformations qui, prises en charge seulement par l’Etat, se seraient produites plus lentement.

Whilst most accounts of nation branding emphasize the economic and diplomatic relevance of the phenomenon, this article examines the way Estonia has been proposing a nation “branding + building” strategy. Drawing from an empirical study of 1) evolving campaigns of Enterprise Estonia; 2) the leverage of the national e-Residency program in attracting foreign investment; and 3) tourist and marketing strategies based on the revisiting of ‘Estonian’ culinary tradition, we look at the way official narratives have been claiming, with the help of nation branding elements, that the country has quickly de-Sovietized and that there is a new understanding of the Estonian nation and “Estonianness”. This is intended to eventually prompt a reflection on the relationship between nation-building and nation branding, which can, in some circumstances, overlap and influence identity construction at the domestic and international level. 

While the importance of consumption of luxury goods as a mechanism accompanying upwards movement in a social hierarchy has been well acknowledged, attention to the role and perceptions of luxury in multicultural societies has been scarce so far. It is nonetheless intriguing that ethnic groups inhabiting the same territory, and exposed to a same culture, might develop substantially different notions of luxury, which may end up affecting the integration, or isolation, of one of the groups. Our article addresses this deficiency in the literature by exploring the case of Estonia, a multi-ethnic society where Russians make up almost one-fourth of the population. Much has been written about the integration, and lack thereof, of ethnic Russians into Estonian society. We contrast these views by looking at inter-ethnic relations in the country from a different angle and by a) looking at consumption of luxury in the country through the concept of ‘conspicuous consumption'; b) endorsing Fo...

In post-socialist spaces, informal payments in educational institutions have often been at the centre of anti-corruption campaigns. A direct consequence, so far, has been that reforms in the public sector have largely been based on attempts to eradicate, or at least minimize, the phenomenon of informal payments. Ukraine is no exception. According to several independent surveys, educational institutions are second only to health care providers for the number of informal transactions recorded. While more than two in three of Ukrainians claim to have engaged with informal exchanges in the past 12 months, almost half of them has made an informal payment in an educational institution, be this a university or a school. The goal of this paper is two-fold. First, we explore the nature and relevance of the phenomenon of informal payments in the educational sector. We rely for this on quantitative studies showing how widespread informal payments are. Second, we provide an alternative explanat...

While the so-called “end of public space” literature, focusing on encroachment of private interests and state surveillance, has contributed to critical thinking of access (or the lack thereof) to public space, and the loss of publicity of public space, the conceptual tools such literature offers to understand contestations in and over public space have remained underdeveloped or, at best, underexplored. This article builds on the above debates to provides further empirical evidence on the way actors of a country compete over, and negotiate, the use of public space and the way it should be regulated. Empirically, it illustrates competition and negotiation of the use of language in Odessa, the third largest city of Ukraine, where Ukrainian should be the official language but Russian is widely used. Theoretically, starting from the way public and private are negotiated, and the extent to which this happens, we will suggest that resistance to state measures, and policies, that do not su...

The Introduction sets the conceptual boundaries of the debate with which the whole collection of chapters engages. On the one hand, it refers to the different strands of literature which have dealt with notions of informality, licitness/illicitness, legality/extralegality, and criminalization. On the other, it defines the fil rouge weaving together the book contributions around three main axes: (1) the social morality of crime; (2) the “people versus state” opposition; (3) informality and resistance.

Abstract This article explores the role of informality among Uzbek construction workers in Russia. We start from a relationship that is based on economic reward and common interests and go on to explore the non-economic components of this relationship. Economically, the workers entrust their supervisor and agree to work for him for a given amount of money. However, this decision is also embedded in a non-economic dimension. All workers, and their master, come from the same village so that an additional layer of social obligations are involved. First, workers are able to receive a treatment that goes beyond economic relations, with favours or more mild attitudes when needed. Second, they are also able to put pressure on the line manager through their families in case things do not work out the way they expected. We use the case study to propose the existence of a non-monetary currency (or even currencies) that complement formal currencies. Money, its symbolism and the power attached to it still play a major role in the relationships and dependencies analyzed here. These points help us in suggesting that relations encompass a wide range of transactions and rituals that go beyond mere economic interest and that cannot be neglected when understanding informality.

This article surveys the official narrative on representation of Estonian identity and Estonianness through the tourism strategy implemented by Estonia from 2007 to 2015. Gathering material from brochures and documents targeting foreigners produced by the Estonian Institute and “Enterprise Estonia” (EAS) and analyzing the logic behind the interior design of Tallinn Airport, we engage with current debates on identity construction in post-Soviet spaces. In particular, we suggest that along with an established body of literature looking at the role of state actors in the construction of identity, studies should consider the role of nontraditional or non-state actors in identifying and promoting identity markers.

Introducing this special issue of Caucasus Survey, this article emphasizes the dual importance of studying informality in the South Caucasus: to reveal processes previously dismissed from the purview of academic enquiry, and to elaborate the informality concept as an innovative prism through which to understand norms and regulations structuring social life and power relations. The special issue addresses two clear gaps in the existing literature: the dearth of research into informality in general, and the specific lack of informality studies that do not take a normatively negative view of their subject. In this introduction, we first give an overview of the current research field in the study of informality. Then we discuss research on post-socialist informality, indicating the absence of the Caucasian cases in this literature. Third, we elaborate further the purpose of this special issue and end by offering brief overviews of the contributions herein.

This article looks at the informal governance practice of Georgia’s post-revolution (2003-2012) reformers. Empirically, we argue that the deployment of informal governance strategies became necessary for the Georgian government precisely because its official liberal reform course was politically constraining and incapacitated it from coping with the social costs of marketization and political-economic crisis. The analysed case, we submit, has major implications for theories of governance and informality. As it stands now, the literature is predominantly preoccupied with improvements in the state’s institutional quality. The Georgian case, in contrast, highlights the importance of institutional design. Utilizing perspectives from Polanyian institutionalist analysis, we problematise the ongoing propagation of market-enhancing institutional design and underline the importance of marketconstraining and social regulation. Arguing that reliance on informality cannot be reduced to profit s...

Recent debates on informal economic activities have partially switched away from a pure monetary logic towards a more complex one, embedded in long term relations and reckoning with non materialistic paradigms. The role of informality in certain aspects of people's lives has however, remained largely unexplored. This article uncovers what happens when the state retires from (providing benefits and social services to) a geographic area and what kind of mechanisms, practices and institutions are created to make up for this. We suggest that, in the face of de facto abandonment by state welfare, and the absence of a private sector alternative, a myriad of transactions and actors can make up for this by replacing these forms of welfare informally. Our case study focuses on the nuclear landscapes around the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in north–central Ukraine as we reveal the ways the excluded and abandoned, which we frame as post-nuclear “bare life” (Agamben, 1998), have created a mecha...

Limits to human action and interaction are detectable everywhere in a state (and not only). The state does not necessarily have a direct role in setting them, but they exist nonetheless. A local trader, from a village or another city, wishing to sell some products in another place must face a number of obstacles: finding the right place, entering a new zone, facing new competitors, finding new connections, affording travel costs etc. Likewise, somebody wishing to move from one city to another, temporarily or definitively, has to face a number of issues ...

Independence forced Ukraine to face a set of statehood and nationhood challenges. State and institution building progressed quickly and effectively. In 1996 the country adopted a constitution and based its institution building on pre-existing ones. Having been a Soviet Republic, Ukraine's institutions were shaped well before 1991—if we exclude the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic corps. The country also diligently quelled Crimean separatism by granting a high level of autonomy to the region, with Kiev retaining control of financial matters.

From the erosion of state legitimacy in Lebanon to the use of smartphones in Kyrgyzstan, from a Polish suburb to the music scene in Azerbaijan, this volume attempts to explain why, in a variety of world regions, a substantial number of people tend to ignore or act against state rules. We propose to look at informality beyond simplistic associations of the phenomenon with a single category such as "informal labour" or "corruption". By doing this, we propose to look for a correlation between the emergence, and persistence, of some informal practices and the quality of governance in a given area. We also suggest that a better understanding of the variety of informal practices present in a region can help conceptualising more adequate interventions and eventually improve the socio-economic conditions of its inhabitants.

Though informed by case studies conducted in Ukraine, this book transcends its country-specific scope. It explains why informality in governance is not necessarily transitory or temporary but a constant in most political systems. The book discusses self-protective mechanisms, responses to incomplete or unfocused policy making, and strategies employed by individuals, classes, and communities to respond to unusual demands. The book argues that when state or company expectations exceed normative behavior, informal behavior continues to thrive. New tactics help cope with the reality of governance. Informality also challenges the values imposed by power through attitudes and behaviors that take place "beyond" or "in spite of" the state.

How can academics cope with the 1000+ tasks they are expected to perform at work?

Based on the author’s experience and stories collected from five continents, The SCOPUS Diaries is intended to change the way readers understand academia and live their academic careers.

Not all the things you are asked to do are vital to your job. Indeed, thinking strategically of your career enables you to find the balance between what you need to do and what you enjoy doing (and that brought you to academic life in the first place).

Organized around short answers to crucial questions researchers ask themselves in the course of their career, The SCOPUS diaries will offer its readers practical tips to inform the daily choices that will eventually determine how they will life their professional and personal life.

The book sales at 5.99 euro here and because of the low price (and the fact that I support the publisher) I will not upload it here. You can buy it from:
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-scopus-diaries-and-the-illogics-of-academic-survival/9783838211992
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-scopus-diaries-and-the-il-logics-of-academic-survival
https://www.amazon.com/SCOPUS-Diaries-logics-Academic-Survival/dp/3838211995

How can academics cope with the 1000+ tasks they are expected to perform at work?

Based on the author’s experience and stories collected from five continents, The SCOPUS Diaries is intended to change the way readers understand academia and live their academic careers.

Now that academics are required to be teachers, managers, media catalyzers, analysts, fundraisers, and social media animals: How do you strike a good balance between what is expected from you and what you want to do? What conferences to attend? How to find the money to go there? Is it worth it to act as a peer reviewer? What publishers are best to target? Is publishing a chapter in an edited book worth the work? This book is intended to help scholars to design and think strategically about their own career. Beginning with “How to get published in good journals,” it explores a number of questions that most academics encounter at various stages of their careers.

Introduction: Informal Economies as Varieties of Governance

    Why Read Informality in a Substantivist Manner? On the Embeddedness of the Soviet Second Economy

    Informal Economy: The Invisible Hand of Government

    Estimating the Size of the Croatian Shadow Economy: A Labour Approach

    Informal Employment and Earnings Determination in Ukraine

    Approaching Informality: Rear-Mirror Methodology and Ethnographic Inquiry

    Explaining the Informal Economy in Post-Communist Societies: A Study of the Asymmetry Between Formal and Informal Institutions in Romania

    Post-Socialist Informality Rural Style: Impressions from Bulgaria

    Exploring the Practice of Making Informal Payments in the Health Sector: Some Lessons from Greece

    Violent Pressure on Business and the Size of the Informal Economy: Evidence from Russian Regions

    Labor Informality in Mexico: An Indicator Analysis

    The Interplay Between Formal and Informal Firms and Its Implications on Jobs in Francophone Africa: Case Studies of Senegal and Benin

    Governing Informal Payments by Market in the Chinese Healthcare System

    Social Mechanisms of the Counterpublic Sphere: A Case of a Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative in LAO PDR

    Formalisation of Entrepreneurship in the Informal Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Role of Formal Institutions: An Analysis of Ghana’s Experience

    Evidence on Corruption in Public Procurements in Healthcare and the Implications for Policy

THIS IS NOT THE FINAL VERSION - THERE ARE TYPOS
Nation-building as a process is never complete and issues related to identity, nation, state and regime-building are recurrent in the post-Soviet region. This comparative, inter-disciplinary volume explores how nation-building tools emerged and evolved over the last twenty years. Featuring in-depth case studies from countries throughout the post-Soviet space it compares various aspects of nation-building and identity formation projects. Approaching the issue from a variety of disciplines, and geographical areas, contributors illustrate chapter by chapter how different state and non-state actors utilise traditional instruments of nation-construction in new ways while also developing non-traditional tools and strategies to provide a contemporary account of how nation-formation efforts evolve and diverge.

In spite of theoretical predictions by a number of scholars, and efforts by practitioners, laws, regulations and institutions to reach a high level of transparency in economic dealings, informality remains one of the most important socio-economic and, indeed, culturally inflected phenomena in the world. We refer here to informal payments, but not only to these. A (large) number of processes, procedures and habits are shaped according to and within practices that resist formalization or regulation from above. These include local terms for ‘connections’ in particular national cultures, such as štela and veze (Bosnia), guanxi (China), blat (Russia), tutvuste kaudu (Estonia) and vruzki (Bulgaria), a number of which feature in this book, as well as more amorphous and shifting informal unwritten rules of conduct and mutuality (Hann and Hart, 2009; Kovacs, 2014; Ledeneva, 1998, 2009; Morris, 2012; Stan, 2012; Wanner, 2005; Williams et al., 2013).

The starting point of this book is case studies which could be classified mostly as engaging with the micro scale. However, our choice to engage with a large territory, encompassing wide geographical diversity and tackling informality at several levels of the society, from a single citizen (Lithuania) to a whole sector (healthcare in Ukraine or companies in Bulgaria), as well as our previous argument that informality is used by both winners and losers of post-socialist transition (Morris and Polese, 2014, 2014b), gives an idea of the size, spread and depth of the phenomenon of informality.
Our goal here is show that informality has a systemic reality not only at the micro level but also, and more importantly, at the macro level. In this book, the authors attempt to move beyond functionalist or structuralist perspectives to propose that informality at the macro scale is nothing but another way of responding to policy-making, and its reality must inform policy decisions. Informality can start as a micro phenomenon, but often grows to such proportions that it must be considered a macro phenomenon rivalling the actions of the state. When this happens, its reality shows the failure of certain measures and perforce prompts a change in attitude or policy-making itself. The authors examine informality through the prism of state–society relations.

This book looks at the aspects of informality developed in all segments of a society. While agreeing that sometimes informality is a way to survive, the authors view informality within a critical realist frame, as a ‘normal’ response or set of tactics for individuals, classes and communities. Where expectations (of the state, of a company, of a commission) are too far from citizens’ existing models of normative behaviour, informal tactics continue and, indeed, new ones are adopted that are designed both to cope with the disjuncture between theory and reality and also to serve as a clear contrast to the imposed values of the centre (state/EU). This brings back into the purview the concept of social milieu, social networks and the moral economy, and at the same time speaks to the literature around civic development and the Habermasian public sphere.

What is the best way to enjoy financial security after retirement in a country with an ineffective pension system? Is there a moral justification for under-the-table payments to a doctor? Is there a clear boundary between a gift and a bribe? Based on the undesrstanding that informality is “the space between two formal rules” this book seeks alternative and critical explanations to phenomena and behaviours that are often too quickly classified as corruption, bad governance, and absence of the rule of law. From bottom-up construction of welfare and security to responses to the construction of social and cultural habits challenging a state, it draws from a number of examples where individual and state morality do not overlap. Informality, it is argued, is not always informed by a monetary or rent-seeking logic but can be regarded as a mechanism by which citizens provide feedback on governement policies. Consequently, this book maintains that a more nuanced understanding of informality may represent a major step towards better and more inclusive governance.

Im Mittelpunkt des Bandes stehen die aus autokratischen Vorläuferregimen mit totalitären Zügen resultierenden Belastungsfaktoren für die Etablierung und Konsolidierung demokratischer Verfassungsstaaten. Der Fall des Eisernen Vorhangs und der Zusammenbruch der Einparteiregime Mittel- und Osteuropas begünstigten in vielen Ländern demokratische Entwicklungen. Doch gingen sie unterschiedliche Wege, und einige verließen den anfänglich eingeschlagenen Pfad demokratischer Transformation bereits wieder nach kurzer Zeit. Die großen Unterschiede der östlichen Transformationen werfen die Frage auf, warum auf den ersten Blick sehr ähnliche Startbedingungen zu sehr unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen geführt haben. Welche Rolle spielte dabei die totalitäre Erblast des »real existierenden Sozialismus«?

Mit Beiträgen von: Uwe Backes (Dresden),
Josette Baer (Zürich), Stanislav Balík (Brno), Timm
Beichelt (Frankfurt/Oder), Joakim Ekman (Örebro),
Sergiu Gergina (Leiden), Jan Holzer (Brno), Tytus
Jaskulowski (Berlin), Jonas Linde (Örebro), Miroslaw
Mares (Brno), Wolfgang Merkel (Berlin), Donnacha
O’Beachain (Almaty), Abel Polese (Edinburgh), Gert
Pickel (Frankfurt/Oder), Pavel Pseja (Brno), Johnny
Rodin (Haninge), Dieter Segert (Wien), Paulina
Sekula (Krakau), Svend-Erik Skaaning (Aarhus) und
Stefan Troebst (Leipzig).

During the first decade of the 21st century, a remarkable phenomenon swept through the former Soviet Union changing the political, social and cultural landscape. Popularly known as the ‘Colour Revolutions’, these non-violent protests overthrew autocratic regimes in three post-soviet republics: the Georgian Rose Revolution (2003), the Ukrainian Orange Revolution (2004) and the Kyrgyzstani Tulip Revolution (2005). This book examines the significance of these regime-change processes for the post-soviet world in particular and for global politics in the 21st century.

Engaging comprehensively with the former Soviet republics, the contributors to this book ask why there wasn’t a revolution in a post-Soviet republic such as Russia, despite apparently favourable conditions. They also explore the circumstances that ensured some post-soviet countries underwent a successful colour revolution whilst others did not. Identifying the conditions for successful colour revolutions, this book asks whether there is a revolutionary blueprint that may be exported to other areas around the world that are under autocratic rule. Carefully considering the ideologies of the post-Soviet ruling regimes, this book demonstrates the manner by which political elites integrated nationalism, authoritarianism and populism into public debates. It analyzes the diverse anti-regime movements, discussing the factors that led to the rise of such factions and outlining how these opposition groups were constituted and operated. In addition, it assesses the impact of external forces including the influence of the USA, the EU and Russia. By examining the colour revolution phenomenon in its entirety, this book marks a significant contribution to both our micro and macro understanding of this tide of transformation.

Full announcement at https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/164985

Cfa: PhD scholarship: Informality and innovation: building post-pandemic resilient communities in Morocco (based at: University of Latvia, EPRC Georgia and UCD Morocco)
This is part of an industrial doctorate project whose description is below. Also documents to apply are listed below in this call.
Your job in a nutshell:
1) you will be enrolled in a PhD programme under guidance of Prof Ilona Baumane-Vitolina and Dr Abel Polese, Dr Irina Guruli and Prof Kamal Labassi
2) you will be employed full time with a competitive salary calculated according to Marie Curie standards (a short description can be found here https://fastepo.com/phd-and-postdocs-salary/salary-of-phd-student-in-marie-sklodowska-curie-itn/)
3) your employment will be shared between a standard university research contract and a contract as an analyst at EPRC with data collection in Morocco
4) you will be part of a large network with 29 partners from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The network will meet twice a year in different locations and you will have a chance to benefit from expertise of other professionals. A list of partners and participants can be found here
https://www.presilient-dn.eu/
5) you will be expected to conduct a research on informality in Morocco while contributing to practical tasks and develop a career plan, in consultation with your supervisors, leading you to be competitive on the job market (with both research and professional experience) as soon as you defend your PhD

We will be assessing applications on a rolling basis with last day to apply the 1 of December 2023. Starting date is 1 January 2024 or as soon as possible at a later agreed date.

Applications should be emailed to presilient.dn@gmail.com  cc-ed to Prof Ilona Baumane-Vītoliņa: ilona.baumane@lu.lv and abel.polese@dcu.ie

An application package must include:
1) a curriculum vitae (including explicit details of country / countries of residence for the past 3 years, this is needed for eligibility purposes);
2) an application letter no longer than 500 words;
3) a short (500-1000 words) summary of your doctoral project.
4) The grades achieved in your Master’s degree (certificates will be requested if you are shortlisted)
5) Name and contact of 2-3 references who can comment on your professional qualifications and abilities (they will be contacted only if you are shortlisted)

call here

https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/67534

In addition to the almost 2bln workers already active in the informal sector, World Bank and ILO estimate that the pandemic might have put at risk of precarious employment 500mln-1.5bln more. These losses, and related consequences, are not evenly distributed given that Africa, Asia and Latin America is where 93% of the world’s informal employment is located and where post-pandemic crisis is likely to hit harder (especially women, migrants and young people). Yet, the concern is global. Indeed, besides vulnerability and precariousness at individual and community levels, informality also eventually reduces state capacity and the ability of institutions to design and implement policies that properly address social, economic and environmental issues (i.e. SDGs) in a long term perspective. Accordingly, informality-related challenges have been devoted a great deal of attention and political statements. But seldom have these statements been followed by concrete instructions, guidelines or evidence-based policies to tackle informality across the world. Starting from this gap, PRESILIENT is a large network comprising 14 partners (of which 7 nonacademic) and 15 associated partners located in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America committed to delivering the a world class cross-regional training on informality in the Global South to: measure it, address it, find viable and sustainable alternatives. By doing this, we have committed to four main objectives: O.1 train the next generation of experts on informality in the global south. O.2 carry out a research spanning 15 different countries and to produce novel data and significant theoretical advancements in the field. O.3 produce strategic intelligence that can be used to provide practical policy recommendations O.4 enable multi-directional knowledge transfer through network events, pairing of academic and non-academic partners (who will jointly supervise each fellow), secondment and task-based teamwork.

Full text here
https://www.dcu.ie/lawandgovernment/news/2023/jan/call-phd-fellowships

Call for 4 PhD fellowships in the frame of the PRESILIENT Industrial Doctorate project.

Post-pandemic resilient communities: is the informal economy a reservoir for the next generation of digitalized and green businesses in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

(HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01, GA 101073394)

Starting date: 1 September 2023

Deadline: 7 March 2023 (instructions on how to apply are below)

Dublin City University has been awarded a €3.9m grant from the European Union to fund a Doctoral Network named PRESILIENT: Post-pandemic resilient communities: is the informal economy a reservoir for the next generation of digitalized and green businesses in Africa, Asia and Latin America?

The consortium involves seven academic and seven non-academic partners and will produce 15 PhD holders featuring both theoretical and empirical knowledge of the topic – this includes an experience of 18 months working in a non-academic partner as specified below.

PhD researcher 1; Focus: Vietnam
Partners: Dublin City University and Development Perspectives (www.developmentperspectives.ie)
PhD researcher 2; Focus: Colombia
Partners: Dublin City University and Development Perspectives (www.developmentperspectives.ie)
PhD researcher 3; Focus: Kyrgyzstan
Partners: Dublin City University and Transition (www.tol.org)
PhD researcher 4; Focus: Chile
Partners: Dublin City University and Economic and Policy Research Center (www.eprc.ge)
What is an Industrial Doctorate?

An MSCA – Industrial Doctorate is a programme funded by Horizon Europe thanks to which Junior Researchers can enroll in a PhD programme while being employed 18 months by a university and 18 months by a non-academic partner (think tank, company, NGO, see list below). Successful fellows will receive a salary for three years, at the EU early Stage Researcher rate – substantially above the level of PhD scholarships in most countries (total amount depending on the country where they will be based in) and an allowance for mobility, research, family in line with EU guidelines that can be viewed via the MSCA actions page.

The programme aims to produce PhD holders with strong work experience, who are therefore already competitive on the job market.

Main objectives of the programme

If successful, you will be enrolled in a PhD programme in one of the universities below and work in a team of academic and non-academic specialists to conduct a multi-level study on informality in one of the 15 target countries (Africa, Asia, Latin America, see list below) involving a) Horizon Scanning; b) Delphi Survey; c) Construction of Case Studies to identify the sectors of the economy that have been most affected by the pandemic, the sectors that could lead economic recovery and the policies needed to make this recovery durable and sustainable in the long term; the final goal is the training of a junior expert on informality in the Global South with exposure to both academic and non-academic sector opportunities; Database, PhD thesis, scientific publications, policy publications, communication activities.

Short description of the project and its focus

In addition to the almost 2bln workers already active in the informal sector, World Bank and ILO estimate that the pandemic might have put at risk of precarious employment 500mln-1.5bln more. These losses, and related consequences, are not evenly distributed given that Africa, Asia and Latin America is where 93% of the world’s informal employment is located and where post-pandemic crisis is likely to hit harder (especially women, migrants and young people). Yet, the concern is global. Indeed, besides vulnerability and precariousness at individual and community levels, informality also eventually reduces state capacity and the ability of institutions to design and implement policies that properly address social, economic and environmental issues (i.e. SDGs) in a long term perspective. Accordingly, informality-related challenges have been devoted a great deal of attention and political statements. But seldom have these statements been followed by concrete instructions, guidelines or evidence-based policies to tackle informality across the world. Starting from this gap, PRESILIENT is a large network comprising 14 partners (of which 7 non-academic) and 15 associated partners located in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America committed to delivering the a world class cross-regional training on informality in the Global South to: measure it, address it, find viable and sustainable alternatives. By doing this, we have committed to four main objectives: O.1 train the next generation of experts on informality in the global south. O.2 carry out a research spanning 15 different countries and to produce novel data and significant theoretical advancements in the field. O.3 produce strategic intelligence that can be used to provide practical policy recommendations O.4 enable multi-directional knowledge transfer through network events, pairing of academic and non-academic partners (who will jointly supervise each fellow), secondment and task-based teamwork.

Project partners and regional focus

You can apply for one or more positions but we would be grateful if you could state this in your application to avoid the risk of recruiting the same candidate twice. The selection process is decentralised so you need to prepare a separate application for each of the universities to which you want to apply. Note that entry requirements, deadline and procedures may differ so check what is needed in the specific announcement issued by each partner.

Practical details

Financial conditions (including salary levels) and background documents are available via the MSCA actions page.

Your salary will be calculated according to MSCA rules and your personal + family situation. More information can be found at the financial section of the above MSCA document. If selected, you will be expected to familiarise yourself with these rules also to be aware of your formal rights and obligations towards the donor.

Eligibility: there are no nationality limitations (anyone can apply); applicants must hold a degree enabling them to enroll into doctoral studies by September 2023 (usually a MA or MSc). They cannot have more than 4 years full time research experience (or hold a doctorate already, even if they worked less than 4 years to complete it) at the time of recruitment.

Mobility requirement: applicants can be of any nationality but cannot have been resident (or have had their main activity i.e. work or study) in the country where you will be enrolled in PhD studies for more than 12 of the 36 months prior to recruitment. This means that if you spent less than 12 months in the country where you are going to start your PhD you are eligible.

NB: this is a very intensive programme. Each selected candidate will be enrolled into a PhD programme, work as junior researcher and will be seconded to the target region for data collection and gain a hands-on work experience on how research skills can be used beyond academia for the benefit of the governmental, private or international development sector. There will also be workshops of 4 to 5 days duration approximately every 6 months at which attendance is essential. Therefore a willingness and ability to undertake these international mobilities is a core requirement.

Any informal enquiries about research topics or the process (that are not already addressed in this call or in the MSCA guide for applicants, see link above), should be addressed to the relevant contact person

Applications should be emailed to presilient.dn@gmail.com and cc-ed to abel.polese@dcu.ie and must include:

a curriculum vitae (including explicit details of country / countries of residence for the past 3 years, this is needed for eligibility purposes);
an application letter no longer than 500 words;
a short (500-1000 words) summary of your doctoral project.
the grades achieved in your Master’s degree (certificates will be requested if you are shortlisted)
name and contact of 2-3 references who can comment on your professional qualifications and abilities (they will be contacted only if you are shortlisted)
Please send all the documents together in one PDF file and use, as subject of your message, “PRESILIENT-DN-2023 Application” + the country you want to focus on (Vietnam, Columbia, Kyrgyzstan, Chile).

Failure to do this might result in your application ending up in the wrong folder. Deadline 7 March 2023, 5pm (Brussels time).

Call for 2 PhD fellowships in the frame of the Industrial Doctorate project
Post-pandemic resilient communities: is the informal economy a reservoir for the next generation of digitalized and green businesses in Africa, Asia and Latin America?
(HORIZON-MSCA-2021-DN-01, GA 101073394)

Starting date: 1 September 2023
Deadline: 28 February 2023

From September 17-19 the University of Lund will host an international conference on the role of informality in international development. The conference FROM ECONOMIC TO POLITICAL INFORMALITY: EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN SHADOW PRACTICES, POLICY MAKING AND DEVELOPMENT will feature Prof Alena Ledeneva (University College London) as keynote speaker. For three days, 40 specialists on corruption, informality and development  (Prof Steven Sampson, Prof Arnis Sauka) will working on the topic.

The study is the first attempt to survey perception and understanding of the SDGs among Vietnamese youth. Over a third of the 169 SDG targets highlight the role of youth, implying their critical role in achieving the SDGs. With people aged 16 – 30 comprising a quarter of the population in Viet Nam, the study focuses on Vietnamese youth perceptions of the SDGs and how they relate the SDGs to the Vietnamese context. For the purpose of the study, an online survey was designed and circulated among young people (16 – 30) from all the 63 administrative provinces of Viet Nam. More than 7,000 answers to the survey were collected and analysed.

The study aims to explore the level of knowledge and understanding of the adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among Vietnamese young people aged 16 – 30. It identified trends and priority issues and Goals among young people, generally as well as depending on different gender groups and on different geographical bases.

At the same time, the study interpreted the data collected to produce intelligence and recommendations on how to: 1) better inform young people to increase their understanding of the SDGs and 2) identify modes of intervention that take into account preferences and priorities of young people to bring about greater participation of young people in SDG implementation.

The study's results have informed the Voluntary National Reviews on SDG implementation of Vietnam presented in July 2018 by Vice Minister of MPI- Mr. Nguyen The Phuon

Informality, informal or shadow economies, with a specific focus on the former USSR region (Southern Caucasus or Central Asia)

Dublin City University (www.dcu.ie) is a research-intensive, globally-engaged, dynamic institution consistently positioned in the rankings of the world’s top young universities.  Dublin City University is ranked in the top 150 in the world for politics and international relations by both the QS and Shanghai world rankings.


DCU Home | DCU
www.dcu.ie
Active engagement with stakeholders and partners is a cornerstone of DCU’s unique identity. We are the antithesis of the ‘Ivory Tower’ university and believe ...

Dublin City University Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction invites applications from students for a PhD studentship in Politics and International Relations, valued at between €21,000 and €27,000 pa, for up to four years.

We welcome high quality applications from those interested in working within the following topic area

Informality, informal or shadow economies, with a specific focus on the former USSR region (Southern Caucasus or Central Asia)

The student will be working together with the research group from our recently started project SHADOW: An exploration of the nature of informal economies and shadow practices in the former USSR region

SHADOW is a research and training programme with the goal of producing strategic intelligence on the region and train a generation of specialists on informality in post-Soviet spaces. Our goals are two-fold: 1) we intend to construct an index to provide an accurate measurement of the level of shadow activities in our target countries; 2) we aim to conceptualise a taxonomy of shadow practices in the post-USSR region in a cross-country and cross-regional perspective.

Criteria

Applicants must have a Masters Degree, fluent English and excellent academic grades.  International students will need to meet the university’s English language requirements.  http://www.dcu.ie/registry/english.shtml

English Language Requirements for Non-Native Speakers of ...
www.dcu.ie
English Language Requirements for Non-Native Speakers of English | RegistryregistryEnglish language requirements for non-native speakers of EnglishIn the case of all ...

Informal Enquiries are welcomed and can be made to:

Dr Abel Polese

abel.polese@dcu.ie

We are happy to facilitate discussion on draft research proposals and to make connections with potential supervisors.

Further information:

This PhD scholarship has a value of up to €21,000 to €27,000 (full fees, plus €16,000pa (usually tax free), for up to 4 years, subject to satisfactory progress.
Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction website http://iicrr.ie/
General Information on PhD’s at Dublin City University https://www4.dcu.ie/graduatestudies/postgrad-research.shtml#ProspectivePGRinfo
Closing date for receipt of applications:      22 March 2018

Applications should be made to IICRR@dcu.ie and they should include

a cv, including 2 academic referees
a one page letter of application
the grades achieved in your Masters degree with copies of transcripts
a 2000 word research proposal, setting out your research question, how the research relates to existing academic literature and a brief description of your proposed methodology.

Youth in the EU and China: Working Together to Common Challenges is a project funded by the EACEA of the European Commission together with the Guanghua Foundation in Beijing (2011-2014). It brings together 16 youth organisations operating in Europe, China and South East Asia and is intended to foster cooperation between European and Chinese youth organisations by engaging in actions aimed at asserting the positive role of volunteering in curbing youth unemployment.

Workshop: Unorthodox Approaches to Eurasian Studies I
A Joint Workshop by CARSI / ESCAS / MARMARA University
Marmara University, Istanbul 11-13 October 2024 (deadline 31 July 2024)


The organisers
The European Society for Central Asian Studies http://www.escas.org/about-escas/ in collaboration with the project CARSI (Central Asian Research on Social Innovation) https://www.carsi-se.eu/
is planning to hold cozy and friendly workshop at Marmara University in October


Rationale
This small workshop, and possibly book project that will result, is intended as a platform for reflection about how far research on Central Asia and its neighbourhood has gone so far. We welcome papers with virtually any focus and spacing from societal, political to economic dynamics of contemporary Central Asia as long as they propose a novel focus (be this an underexplored topic, an innovative methodology or novel theorisation of existing phenomena). We are particularly interested in topics and approach that sound unorthodox or unusual. On the other hand, we are not obsessed with having to discuss only extremely unorthodox or unusual topics. We rather seek to stimulate a conversation to look at mainstream and alternative topics through some different lenses or framework for interpretation.


Expected sessions
This presential (no online presentations) workshop will host a small amount of papers so to leave space for discussions and reflections but also socialisation, networking and building up new collaborations across the region. There will be space for social events (i.e. dinner, a walking tour) and for training sessions (i.e. publication strategies, fundraising). Each session will be chaired by a specialist to promote constructive discussions and offer suggestions


Geographical scope
The geographical focus is also flexible. We are open to comparisons with other regions (as long as Central Asia is in the picture) and to the broader Eurasian region, spacing from Turkey and the Caucasus to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mongolia and Western China in addition to the five Central Asian post-Soviet republics.


Follow-up plans
We plan to share plans for a joint publication (special issue of a journal or edited book, or both if there are enough good papers) and the event shall also be an occasion to discuss possible future workshops in the region


Submissions
If interested, please send, by the 31th of July, a 300 word abstract and a short biographical statement to escastudies@protonmail.com
please also cc to: melanie.sadozai@zea.uni-regensburg.de and abel.polese@dcu.ie


Financial conditions
- there is no workshop fee
- meals will be provided to all participants
- it is not possible to take care of travel but for those with limited funding we can cover accommodation for 2-3 nights

This interdisciplinary colloquium explores the social dynamics of the 1990s through the period’s changing material culture. Everyday “stuff” was transformed by the disappearance of the Soviet system, the irruption of the market, and the opening to the world.  The aim is to investigate the long disintegration of the Soviet system by looking at how populations which are caught in a state of uncertainty react with material inventiveness in order to adapt.

The imprint left by people on things inherited from the Soviet past or newly introduced by the economic and political opening of the system generates a human-material interplay. This transforms social relations over time and fulfills a structuring role in societies. The choice of a material approach combines the universe of things (objects, consumer goods, but also real estate and technical infrastructures) with the space of social relations. It also opens a door on the ordinary intimacy of material arrangements that make everyday life “liveable” in unsettled times.  The event is planned as a multidisciplinary dialogue between history, sociology, anthropology and economics.

A lost decade? Ordinary perceptions and academic analyses 

The 1990s have left such a negative mark that the period has been either pushed into oblivion as a repressed memory or put forward as a political scarecrow. In post-Soviet societies, the 1990s were met with disappointment with soaring democratic and liberal expectations, hopes for widespread prosperity, and modernization through the market. "The 1990s" were so turbulent and feverish, so equivocal and uncertain for many post-Soviet societies that their popular and political narratives are torn between dichotomous representations: an era of moral and legal decay ("Lykhie 90"), on the one hand, and a liberal experience ("ostrov svobody") on the other. The narrative also varies by country: it can be one of nation-building as in Ukraine, or one of exit (from communism) and entry (European) as in the Baltic countries. These years – the chronological boundaries remain fuzzy - were experienced in a variety of ways by societies of the former USSR: it is a period of social, political, and economic production that cemented the political dynamics of the 2000s in Russia, Belarus, the Baltic countries, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

There is one experience that binds these societies across the region in the immediate post-Soviet aftermath: a shared loss of certainty in the broadest sense of the word. Whether by the trauma of war or otherwise violent social collapse, populations lost their points of reference and of visibility in daily life, they saw their horizons of expectation contracted to address the immediate present. In short, the world had become unpredictable and unreadable. 

Numerous works of economic and cultural anthropology dealing with the post-Soviet space explore the management of these states of uncertainty from the point of view of adapting practices and strategies of economic survival, cultural practices, consumption, state regulation, and property (Morris 2016, Verdery 1999 and 2013, Allina-Pisano 2008, Hann & Gudeman 2015a 2015b). As for the political science perspective, it draws a connection between the 1990s and the legitimization of authoritarian and statist regimes. The existential uncertainty of populations has been commonly identified as the generator of a social demand for "order" and as the foundation of the Putinist social contract (Garrigues, Rousselet 2004, Cook and Dimitrov 2011, Feldmann and Mazepus 2017). 

Academic research has brought nuance to the understanding of the 1990s, in particular by analyzing the weight of legacies from the past and adaptations in a context of social collapse (see bibliography and references). However, the 1990s have not yet been put into historical perspective. We frame the experience of the 1990s as one of populations caught in a state of " permanent liminality" (Szakolczai 2014) where they are forced to reinvent in a continuous loop a "new normality" through the mediation of practices but also of everyday objects (Maček,2016).

Reinventing the 1990s? Creativity and revolution in social relations with things

Looking at the"1990s" through the concept of liminality underlines the dimension of creativity that such a state of permanent uncertainty embodies:  actors invent and create in order to ensure a semblance of control over their situation and their horizon of expectation (Thomassen et al. 2015). The anthropologist K. Verdery described the introduction of market relations and private property as a period of possible innovation. The 1990s signified a revolution in the way of thinking and interacting to the point of touching the "foundations of what constitutes a person", through the new relationship it establishes between the person and the thing owned (Verdery 2013). The materialized and starkly visual and aesthetic expression of the break with the past is striking: it can be the sudden irruption of new things like imports of consumer goods, experiences of urban transformation (degradation or aestheticization), social differentiation, the abandonment of Soviet rituals or public practices and the introduction of new ones. Social dynamics of the 1990s such as the transformations of firms, of the relationship to the urban or natural environment, of the management of new private property or that of the public good also deserve a fresh eye through a material approach. Some scholarship has shown how, in a context of shortages, the practices of "home-made" and DIY created a particular relationship to things, constitutive of the "Soviet subject" (Golubev 2020, Gerasimova 2004). One may wonder how material creativity in Soviet everyday life interacts with one forged in market conditions.

We take as a vantage point material objects to build an argument that things lost, repaired, shared, invented or adapted during the 1990s constitute windows on the Soviet social orders, rooted in the past but transformed and continued. The 1990s are treated as a time-space of social creativity, where present mix with an in-depth historical investigation. Through materiality, the colloquium offers the opportunity to throw a fresh look on the research done on informality, entrepreneurship, the market, civil society but also the media, culture ... to go further in seeking to understand what new where new social ties and interactions are made around the material "novelties" in the entire post-Soviet space. 

Call for papers 

With historical hindsight of nearly thirty years, this conference opens the floor to a less normative, more empirical rereading, closer to people and their material culture. The aim is to approach the 1990s as a field of transformation of social ties resulting from the Soviet order around material and technical innovations. These marked the era, contributing to the de-fabrication of old networks and the development of new ones. Materiality represents, through new or transformed objects, social universes. They establish a connection with the contemporary- or fail to do so.  Proposals can address – but are not limited to- the following aspects:

Defecting: breakdowns of things, neglect, shutdowns, degradation, accidents, breakage, destruction, deindustrialization, depopulation, management of new commons and their failure (for example, the pod’’ezd, water and electricity supply, distribution and power cuts, life in darkness -Tbilisi, Alma-Ata, Dushanbe, etc.).

Repairing: objects and their reconversion, re-use, sharing; managing shortages and mutual aid (in the light of examples as diverse as the renovation of children's playgrounds, the distribution of clothing to refugees or the proliferation of pawnshops (“lombard”)

Exploring: new places, new consumer and capital goods, new equipment and how to use it, the invention, circulation and consumption of goods and products, the chelnok/shuttle trade (from the arrival of Turkish and then Chinese everyday consumer products (hygiene, clothing, utensils) to the first computers and the use of drugs and adulterated products). These explorations also concern the revolution of intimacy, the relationship to the body and the relationship to gender (feminine intimate hygiene, sexuality, sensuality...), new aesthetics (video-show, media and advertising) and experiences of the senses (songs, smells, tastes).

Conflicting: objects caught in conflicts of claim, appropriation, or expropriation (around coveted apartments or production assets, industrial resources or security assets).

The visual dimension of the conference can be expanded by the use of video, photo or audio contributions.  With regard to the debate around historicizing the recent past, the conference organizers welcome papers on sources (public and private archives, testimonies, interviews...) as a subject of contributions.



Submission guidelines:

Abstract submissions are due on 1 May 2021. They should include the following elements:

·      Title

·      Abstract (500 words)

·      Author’s name, affiliation and short bibliographical note (150 words) (in the body of the email)

Authors will be notified within approximately a month of the abstract submission deadline as to the status of their contributions.

Authors of the selected submissions will be invited to confirm their participation in the conference (planned in Paris on 8 - 9 March 2022) in mid-October 2021.

They will be invited to submit the draft of their paper proposals (7000-10000 words) by 15 December 2021.

Abstract submissions shall be sent to Dr. Sophie Lambroschini (sophie_lambro@yahoo.com) and Prof. Françoise Daucé (dauce@ehess.fr) with “Submission Making1990s” as your email subject.

The conference will take place in Paris on 8-9 March 2022. Upon request, funding will be made available, if necessary, to cover the travel costs of participants whose proposals have been selected.

EU funded European Training Network – (MSCA-ETN-2020 GA no: 861034)

Two Early Stage Researcher positions (with enrollment into a PhD programme) to start in January 2021
deadline 20 November 2020


MARKETS: Mapping Uncertainties, Challenges and Future Opportunities of Emerging Markets: Informal Barriers, Business Environments and Future Trends in Eastern Europe, The Caucasus and Central Asia


Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) is part of a consortium that was awarded a €3.9m grant from the European Union to fund a European Training Network entitled MARKETS - a world-leading politics, business and policy oriented Early Career Training programme which will equip 15 fellows, across a range of 9 international partners (University of Bremen, University of Helsinki, Catholic University Leuven, University College London, Maastricht University, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Tallinn University of Technology and the Center for Social Sciences in Tbilisi). with theoretical knowledge, analytical skills and complementary training to understand and deal with emerging markets in the Eastern Europe, The Caucasus and Central Asia regions.

Two positions will be based in Tallinn, Estonia, at the Faculty of Business and Economics of Tallinn University of Technology. Successful fellows will receive a salary for three years, at the EU early Stage Researcher rate, including social benefits (pension scheme, medical insurance). The fellow will be expected to enroll also into a PhD programme in the School of Business and Governance at TalTech. Subject to satisfactory progress a national level scholarship may be available in year 4.  Fellows will also benefit from international summer schools, international mentors in universities and non-university partners and funding for tuition fees, field research, conference travel, language classes. The 15 Fellows and the supervisors meet up for joint workshops approximately every six months – ensuring that fellows graduate not only with a PhD but with a well established international network.   

Fellows will conduct their research on one of the topics listed below. 

The overall goal of the project is to compare countries that had fully opened to foreign investors by the early 2000s – Estonia, Latvia (now EU members), Georgia (considered by many as an example of best practice in reforms), and Kyrgyzstan (where markets are stable but no major economic leap is expected in the next immediate future) – with what have been identified as significant prospective post-USSR markets for the next ten years - Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (all of which have shown a more concrete desire for economic dialogue in the past three years), Russia (its eastern region and, in particular, Siberia, which has remained largely unexplored by EU companies), and Azerbaijan, a country that has finally started interacting in more concrete terms with the EU.


Project topic
Project focus
Entrepreneurial behaviour, informality and the construction of social norms: a cross-regional perspective
Use behavioural game theory to explore the interplay between social norms and informal economies; provide a model of why actors engage with informality beyond simple financial motives, contribute to policy debates
Ethics, principles, state vs. individual morality, and the construction of new or diverging moralities in EU eastern neighbours
Identify the role of national and international external actors in shaping the notion of state morality;  inquire into the nature of gaps between official (state) morality and accepted moral values or ‘the norm’ among citizens



Practical details
Financial conditions (including salary levels) and background documents are available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/msca-itn-2020 NB: select guide for applicants. The financial conditions in the call will the one that apply to you.

Your salary will be calculated according to MSCA rules and your personal + family situation. More information can be found at the financial section of the MSCA ITN guide for applicants that you can find in section 5 (Financial Aspects) of the document. These are worth checking before you decide to apply since, if selected, you will be expected to familiarise yourself with these rules also to be aware of your formal rights and obligations towards the donor.

Eligibility: applicants must hold a degree enabling them to enroll into doctoral studies by December 2020 (usually a MA or MSc). They cannot have more than 4 years full time research experience (or hold a doctorate already, even if they worked less than 4 years to complete it) at the time of recruitment.

Mobility requirement: applicants can be of any nationality but cannot have been resident (or have had their main activity i.e. work or study) in the Republic of Estonia for more than 12 of the 36 months prior to recruitment. This means that if you spent less than 12 months in Estonia (including if you have never been there) you are eligible.

NB: this is a very intensive programme. Each selected candidate will be enrolled into a PhD programme, and will be seconded to the target region for data collection and will subsequently be seconded to a non-academic partner to gain a hands-on work experience on how research skills can be used beyond academia for the benefit of the governmental, private or international development sector. There will also be workshops of 4 to 5 days duration approximately every 6 months at which attendance is essential. Therefore a willingness and ability to undertake these international mobilities is a core requirement. 


Any informal enquiries about research topics or the process (if you have questions about issues that are not already addressed in this call or in the guide for applicants) should be addressed to Lawschooleu@gmail.com

Applications should be sent to Lawschooleu@gmail.com (cc shugyla.kilybayeva@gmail.com) and must include:
1) a curriculum vitae  (including explicit details of country / countries of residence for the past 3 years, this is needed for eligibility purposes);
2) an application letter no longer than 500 words;
3) a short (500-1000 words) summary of your doctoral project.
4) The grades achieved in your Masters degree (certificates will be requested if you are shortlisted)

Please send all the documents together in one PDF file named after your name and surname and use, as subject of your message, “MARKETS-ETN-2020 Application”. Failure to do this might result in your application ending up in the wrong folder and, in a worst case scenario, ignored.

Deadline 20 November 2020, 23.59h (Estonian time)

Dublin City University has been awarded a €3.9m grant from the European Union to fund a European Training Network entitled MARKETS - a world-leading politics, business and policy oriented PhD programme which will equip 15 fellows, across a range of 9 international partners (University of Bremen, University of Helsinki, Catholic University Leuven, University College London, Maastricht University, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Tallinn University of Technology and the Center for Social Sciences in Tbilisi). with theoretical knowledge, analytical skills and complementary training to understand and deal with emerging markets in the Eastern Europe, The Caucasus and Central Asia regions.

Three positions will be based in Dublin City University.  European Training Networks are among the best supported PhD programmes in the world.  Successful fellows will receive a salary for three years, at the EU early Stage Researcher rate – substantially above the level of PhD scholarships in most countries. Subject to satisfactory progress a national level scholarship may be available in year 4.  Fellows will also benefit from international summer schools, international mentors in universities and non-university partners and funding for tuition fees, field research, conference travel, language classes etc.  If required a standard PhD scholarship will be available in year  The 15 Fellows and the supervisors meet up for joint workshops approximately every six months – ensuring that fellows graduate not only with a PhD but with a well established international network.   

Students will conduct their PhD research on one of the topics listed below.

Cfp: Informality, development and the state

I am preparing a panel for the Central Eurasian Studies Society Regional Conference (Tashkent, June 25-28, 2020) https://www.centraleurasia.org/conferences/regional/?fbclid=IwAR3EUiBfLE6kp_coH0os4f4119SI3oQ_vAoeEpTrIFxcQOU2L7s-sGs4XHo

NB: Deadline for submission is very soon (29 February 2020) so if you are interested and want to discuss your contribution please contact me as soon as possible at ap@tlu.ee 

You would then be required to send an abstract by the 27th of February so that I can complete the panel.

Participants will be responsible for their own travel to the conference. If you are interested in the topic but cannot attend, be aware that I am preparing an edited volume with the same title so. Just write to discuss or send an abstract.

Studies of Transitions States and Societies is an open access, APC-free, bi-annual journal published by Tallinn University. Published since 2009 it is already indexed in Scopus, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), EBSCO, ProQuest, Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL) and the International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA).

You can look at our authors and their contributions here: http://publications.tlu.ee/index.php/stss/

We are currently looking for contributions for our June 2020 issue. Any topics within the scope of the journal would be welcome. But we would particularly welcome contributions discussing the relationship between informality and development (ideally, based on recently-collected empirical material). If interested, please submit a paper through the website. If you have an abstract and you are not sure whether your research will fit, you are welcome to write a (short and clear) message to the co-editor in chief at ap@tlu.ee

One author dropped from the collection below. We can manage but we also thought that it might be worth to check if someone is interested, since in summer many have more time to write. Time is short but, on the bright side, the volume will come out quickly (early 2017)


If interested contact me at


ap (at) tlu.ee  or just reply to this message


by the 20 of August at latest (better earlier). We would need the paper as soon as possible but we might be able to negotiate a bit



The national in everyday life. Identity and nation­-building in post­-socialist spaces

Editors: Abel Polese, Jeremy Morris, Emilia Pawlusz and Oleksandra Seliverstova






Overview and rationale

With this work we intend to explore, from a variety of perspectives and disciplines, how everyday practices become a meaningful and useful site for understanding socio-political engagements in the nation-building processes. The meaning of ‘everyday’ encompasses any kind of quotidian and ‘banal’ practices. These could be related to consumption, kinship, embodiment, mobility, games, clothing, Although there is a growing body of literature on informality and everyday practices in the post-socialist context, most of them do not sufficiently connect the micro and the macro or, in other words, do not necessarily explore the way micro processes at the local and/or everyday level may come to affect macro transformations and policy making at the national or regional level.



By complementing current works on identity construction from a bottom-up perspective, the current volume will focus on how, through everyday practices, individuals establish, negotiate and embed references to concepts of citizenship, statehood and national self-definition. Developing earlier insights into the study of everyday nationalism, initiated by Michael Billig (1995) and critically updated by Skey (2009) to encompass the need to take account of globalization, the editors are seek empirically-based studies of nationhood that emerge not from the state level, but in practices of everyday life among ordinary people and serve to 'materialize' the nation.



Questions perspective authors might want to engage with include (but are not limited to):



·        How national identity could be explored through everyday acts, like consumption, leisure, food procurement and cooking, education of children, handcraft and arts, fashion, tourism, organisation of household.

·        What are the dispositions and habituses that reveal shared or conflicting understandings of national identity.

·        Perception and understanding of national belonging by ordinary people.

·        How national characteristics are revealed in organization of public/private space, and movement through that space.

·        Informal or spontaneous nation-building.

·        The contrast between ‘hot’ and banal forms of everyday nationalism.

·        The long durée effect of post-socialist transformation on nationalism.

We are looking for 2-3 contributions to complete a volume to be published in late 2017. If interested please send an abstract to alessandra.russo@sssup.it by the 15th of October 2016.


“The good, the bad and the ugly”
Exploring boundaries between the informal, the criminal and the immoral

The primary goal of this volume is to explore the complexity of informality and variety of forms informal transactions and practices may take, from the extra legal to illegal and immoral activities.
Recent empirical works have drawn attention on the range of activities happening out of the control of a state (see for example Schroeder, Chappuis and Kocak 2014; Knudsen and Frederiksen 2015). Although concepts like informality and illegality have been used to define them, we know that the abovementioned activities are quite different in nature, and they need to be investigated via a further deconstruction. They can be illegal – that is, going against legal codes, informal – that is legal in their nature but concealed from the state, immoral – going against either public morale or morality defined by one or several groups embedded in state structures.

The interplay and interactions among actors, institutions and networks involved in these activities, are still under-explored and under-conceptualised: this volume has been conceived as an attempt to fill this gap.

Details in the PDF file

Full call at http://www.ulb.ac.be/fsp/cecid/index-Activites.html

Rationale: This conference is intended to stir an international debate on the concept and understanding of " resistance " in its various meanings. In this respect, the use of the word resistance in its plural form for the title of this conference is not incidental. It emphasizes our will to explore the complexity and multi-faceted forms, locations, aims, and outcomes inherent to the concept of resistance. We see resistance(s) not only as a concept that can be engaged with from various angles. It is also an approach that can help a dialogue between academia and other sectors, a thing that this conference seeks to explore in broad temporal and geographical perspectives. From mass public protests during the Arab Springs and the Indignados and Occupy movements, to individual disobedience from whistle blowers (Assange, Snowden), resistance (to domination, oppression, or simply mainstream political power) has been manifesting itself in a variety of modes. This newly available empirical evidence rapidly generated numerous, rich accounts and encountered studies of social movements and contentious politics. What have remained largely understudied are the accounts of non

Ignorance has always existed. But when did it became so fashionable? And powerful?

In the early days of the war in Ukraine, I often heard the “but what about the [allegedly neo-Nazi] Azov Battalion?” refrain even by (allegedly) fellow scholars. How did the Azov argument get so strong? Yes, there are ultra-nationalists enrolled in the battalion. Yes, its ideology is partly inspired by far-right ideas. But would the alleged extremism of some of its 1,000 soldiers outbalance Russian mass killings, torture, and rape of civilians, and, in general, a full-scale invasion of a country? (Would you expect members of any military brigade to read Gandhi as a bedtime story, by the way?).

Once again, this week, I was asked to replace someone for a presentation. After the session, my colleague said "Wow, you were [unexpectedly?] good, we should have thought of you earlier". A similar scenario occurred earlier this year when I replaced a superstar in my field at a conference where ministers and government officers were present.
While I could have just cherished the good words that I heard about me, my primary question was what I had done to earn such low expectations. My answer is possibly because I use no packaging. No fuss, no advertisement about how cool I am, no liaison with policymakers. I simply deliver and leave. I am aware that this contradicts most books on how to be successful, but I believe there is nothing wrong with it. It is a way to position yourself: let deeds speak rather than words. You will get fewer requests to speak but people will eventually notice you.

I therefore dedicate this post to my introverted (or simply PR-reluctant) colleagues, along with anyone who has ever taught me that it’s harder to be in high demand if you do not have high social skills.

https://researchwhisperer.org/2023/09/05/introvert-networking/

After wars end, declarations of "never again" may soothe our consciences, until the next preventable conflict flares. The grounds of the Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda are the resting place of around 250,000, mostly nameless, bodies and an exhibition that many find disturbing to the utmost. Local guides say it's fine to feel bad, to skip a room that makes you feel uncomfortable or to leave if images are too distressing.

https://tol.org/client/article/hard-earned-lessons.html

Last month, in Taiwan, it was a struggle to get used to the noise of jet fighters waking me up in the morning. I asked my friend whether this was normal. “Not normal, but still fine” was her answer.

I wondered what it must be like to live every day with the thought that your country might be invaded. A week was enough for my nerves. I was not keen to repeat my last escape from a war zone. It turned out it was just a signal to China, whose planes were then trespassing into Taiwanese aerospace, that Taiwan was ready to rebuff them.

But how much did this “signal” cost? Were it not for the threats, perhaps an equivalent amount could be used to build roads, modernize hospitals, upgrade schools? Humans seem to be willing to spend money to identify solutions for problems that they have themselves created out of nothing.

Apart from politicians boosting their egos, and a few businessmen hoping to upgrade to billionaire (from modest millionaire), would the average Taiwanese, or Chinese, gain if this island “moved” into China?

Another disturbing thought struck me. Those concerned with climate change (and I include myself) sometimes engage in a perverse exercise of gently blaming one another for their CO2 emissions to try and make themselves feel less guilty about their own footprints. I bike everywhere, my neighbor goes vegan, and so on. But how much would I need to bike to compensate for a single supersonic jet ride in Taiwan or the umpteenth rocket that Putin distractedly drops onto the next Ukrainian building?

So here we go, enjoying the sound of supersonic jets in the early hours or alarms telling Ukrainians to run to the metro station, all because of someone’s desire to decide what country deserves to live, which people deserve to be free and which do not.

(continues in the text)

It may be time to draw a line between Russian culture and culture produced in Russian

I wonder how many people still use the term “post-Soviet.” Until last February, I admit, I used it a lot. Force of habit, perhaps inertia, one could say. Perhaps also attempts to “defend my territory” when debating with specialists on other regions.
Yet, since February, I no longer feel comfortable with the term. A war is a war and I feel like I was suddenly awoken and pushed out of my comfort zone. In retrospect, the end of “post-Soviet” was in the air already. Perhaps I did not want to notice how diverse the region had grown, how different ordinary Russians and Ukrainians had become.

Escaping your first war is harder than you may think. You hear the bombs from a distance, you see the blast of the explosions and your brain still thinks “it’s far away, it won’t get all the way here”. It is the first step of a shock: denial, when you simply think “this can’t be true. I am dreaming”. After all, you grew up in a safe society, do not know war or have never seen a killed person.

You look at yourself from the side and it feels like watching a bombing on TV. The danger is just “out there” but definitely not here, you think. Denial could continue until eventually, a blast takes your life or, hopefully, until you finally make the association: bombing may lead to death, just go. You make a mental note for the next war and you eventually decide to flee.

available here also
https://iicrr.ie/ukrainian-personal-odyssey/

A voice in the dark – “wake up, we need to go.” You cannot think where you’re supposed to go at 5 a.m., you’ve worked in war zones but you were never there when the bombing started. This is how it feels you think, while finding it hard to believe that around you there’s a war.

And if this is just a false alarm? If you’re just being too prudent? Maybe there’s no need to go anywhere. After all, working until 3 a.m. the previous night turned out not to be such a good idea. You need time to connect your brains.

You stop for a moment to remember the fake explosions during the Yugoslav war. You hope it’s the same but do you really want to take a chance? Putin has announced a massive “special operation” to demilitarize Ukraine. It will be hell, it’s just a matter of time.

Your ex-wife has already left the city when you have your family council with (ex) parents in law, babushka, and dog. For you it’s easier since you just need to go home but for them? They need to decide in 10 minutes whether to abandon everything they’ve constructed in the course of their life. You can’t blame babushka’s naivety when she says Putin will never dare to kill Ukrainians, a brother nation.

full text also here

https://tol.org/client/article/how-to-become-a-refugee-in-3-days.html

If you are in the humanities or social sciences, you may regard a monograph or book, especially your first one, as a milestone in your career. Let’s assume that you have patiently collected and processed your data, interpreted them and found good theoretical paradigms to engage with. Now it’s time to write a proposal and choose a publisher to approach.

How to choose one? Well, it is usually a matter of trial and error. Send your proposal here and there, get a few rejections, and eventually stumble into a publisher interested in your book. Submit and enter academic adulthood.

Often your choice of a publisher will be based on the answer to “Who is the first publisher available?” rather than “Who is the best publisher for my work at this stage?” Once published, you will start reflecting on whether what you got was what you needed or deserved. The more you publish after that, the better you will understand your priorities and career necessities.

All that said, however, choosing one publisher over another for your first book could have a major impact on your early career. A vanity press will be a spot on your CV difficult to wash off, but a too-demanding publisher will take some of the time and effort you need to devote to other things to get your first job. If you are trying to identify the best publisher for your work, as a starting point, I suggest you consider your position with regard to four variables: pricing policy, prestige, speed and marketing.

https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/11/05/four-variables-consider-when-choosing-publisher-opinion

Finally, the message came. Friends had warned you but you couldn’t help feeling disappointed when the request finally arrived. The dean of your school has asked you (and everyone else) to apply for external funding in the next few months.

You have nowhere to hide – stress and sleepless nights loom ahead. Maybe if you submit a few bids that are not funded, you can claim that you are doing your job. But the ice under your feet will eventually get thin. Is the alternative scenario any better? If you win, it will count to your next promotion (or tenure), but it will also mean more work. Evenings spent writing reports and expenditure claims instead of being with your family or friends.

You ask around. Many colleagues say that this is just the way things are. Others admit that they don’t fancy it but they fancy the risk of losing their job even less.

Unenthusiastically, you start gathering information on where and how to apply. You are already doing many things for free – this is just one more. After all, new academics must endure these things to get stronger. At least, that is what you have been told.

Between September 2018 and April 2019, my team submitted, mostly to European Commission calls, 12 funding applications totalling €20m. Of these, only one was funded straight away. Two more, worth €3.9 and €1.5m are first and second on their respective reserve lists, whether they are funded or not is beyond my control.

In terms of money raised, target amounts can vary a lot, depending on the fundraiser and the research projects involved. But, in percentages, this equates to an 8% success rate, calculated as total applications vs funded ones and 5%, if one compares the amount requested vs the amount received. Are these figures any good?

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2019/08/19/reflections-on-academic-fundraising-the-art-of-getting-there/

At a new exhibition on Soviet Estonia, some of the reminders of the past are “remainders” – still in use today.

You have more than an hour before your train leaves Tallinn's central railway station. It is a surprisingly warm and sunny day, for Estonia, so you wander across the road to the old railway station bazaar (balti jaama turg). Dating from the Soviet period, it has been “modernized,” with posh shops and cafes replacing the shabby old kiosks. At the entrance, you get caught up in the stands selling summer fruits – ripe and colorful to the eye. You make your contribution to global warming by buying cherries from Poland and strawberries from Greece, all the time wondering where all the Estonian products are.

You return to the station, still with an hour to go before your train leaves. While speculating about where would be the best place to sit down and get some work done, you notice a sign: “Leap into the Past: Exhibition on Soviet Estonia.” The sign is in Russian, in Futurist font. The post-Soviet scholar in you suddenly wakes up. Coincidentally (or not) at the entrance to the exhibition, an old yellow truck is selling draught kvass (a lightly-fermented rye drink). Just like in the good old times ... only this is Estonia in 2019.

https://www.tol.org/client/article/28463-where-your-grandmas-kitchen-belongs-in-a-museum.html?fbclid=IwAR0UbDCVvSm-C1nOVn8jB5_whil1nDfozRoUJtazsPaL9aEtpReLikKRKdo

http://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Informality_in_Ukraine_and_beyond:_one_name,_different_flavours...with_a_cheer_for_the_Global_Encyclopaedia_of_Informality

I find it difficult to locate a precise moment in time when research on informality gained such a momentum. But I can at least recall my own starting point. When I got inspired by the Odessa-Chisinau ''elektrichka'' to write a paper for a workshop at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle in 2005, I was advised to use "survival strategies" instead of "informality" in the title because few would understand the latter word. I remember how relieved I was, a couple of years later, to find Colin Williams devoting a great deal of his time and efforts to informality and to Ukraine.

A few years after that things had radically changed. After a short break from academia, I was back in November 2013, parachuted into the largest event on informality in the post-socialist world I have ever seen. Thanks to a series of generous grants, my friend Nicolas Hayoz invited around 120 scholars working on informality in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asian regions to Fribourg. Informality seemed to have gone big and has since become a catchword decorating academic articles, books and special issues from a variety of regions.

At the conference I was introduced to the idea of the Global Encyclopaedia of Informality (Ledeneva 2018) that was being developed at the time and that eventually brought scholars from the four corners of the world to the launch of its two volumes in London in March 2018.

In spite of the autobiographic introduction to the term informality, I have no intention to deny the long history of debates developed around it well before this. If we take a mostly economistic view on informality, we could look at least back to post-WWI debates on economic development. Explorations of the informal sector, as the topic was called at that time, informed a variety of economic and economistic positions (Lewis 1955, 1959) eventually evolving into several other directions: from ultra-liberal views on corruption (Leiff 1964) to the work of anthropologists shifting attention from monetary to non-monetary transactions (Hart 1973), from the tangible and measurable to the symbolic and allegedly intangible.

Beyond Official Statistics: Re-classifying “Informality” in Ukraine

“Informality” in its many forms – from outright corruption to showing gratitude for going above and beyond the call of duty – has something to teach us, and could even serve as a feedback mechanism for public policy.
by Abel Polese 11 December 2018

When talking about corruption – or, more generally, about practices that are considered illegal or unlawful according to some international standards – the normative positions of state, society, and other main stakeholders do not always fully overlap. Indeed, not all practices considered harmful by international organizations are necessarily noxious, nor are they perceived as such by state or society. By the same token, not all practices which are considered good ones – according to international standards or some other normative position – bring about the desired results.

This short piece illustrates how a significant number of Turkmen current members of the presidential entourage found alternative paths for their development (study in Iran, Egypt, Turkey) in the turmoil of the 1990s

http://www.laender-analysen.de/zentralasien/pdf/ZentralasienAnalysen125.pdf

How far can an elite go in its efforts, voluntary and involuntary, to foster a national identity in a given context? From mega-events and massive public projects to national singing and tourism brochures, a team of scholars, myself included, have been exploring a number of ways to boost national identity in post-Soviet countries.

We’ve looked at identity markers perpetuated by non-political actors – a new fashion or habit that goes viral nationally, or a social movement with which a large portion of the population identifies. We’ve studied political measures conceived for other purposes that end up affecting the identity of a large percentage of a national population.

But we had never considered nation-building through terrorism – or, more specifically, through an anti-terrorist narrative. 

Until a few weeks ago, at least.

Georgia has now full access to Horizon 2020: a great opportunity for research and innovation but also a challenge for scientists and academia

https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Georgia/Diplomacy-and-change-on-Georgia-s-recent-access-to-H2020-funds-176997

The question, however, is if today’s universities – populated by underpaid staff who are under constant pressure to generate income, given the scarce support from the state – are the right place to train future citizens of Ukraine in civic values, and whether there's a need to spend so much money and time to get through this phase.
A dysfunctional higher education sector, on the other hand, erodes state legitimacy and runs the risk of alienating even more a state from its citizens. Now, citizens will survive somehow and so will the state. It is just easy to imagine that a happy marriage would work better than living separated under the same roof.

Действительно ли в Украине слишком высокий уровень коррупции или же слишком много разговоров о коррупции? Да и что вообще считать коррупцией?
..............

Я считаю, что существуют два вида неформальности. Позитивная — работает как механизм социального перераспределения. И негативная — заражающая систему. Разница между ними не только в финансовой природе трансакций. Если государство уходит из определенного сектора, допустим, не выделяя достаточного количества средств, возникает саморегулирование, и говорить там о коррупции становится бессмысленным.

Чи справді в Україні надто високий рівень корупції або ж забагато розмов про корупцію? Та й що взагалі вважати корупцією?

-------------

Я вважаю, що існують два види неформальності. Позитивна — працює як механізм соціального перерозподілу. І негативна — що заражає систему. Різниця між ними не лише у фінансовій природі трансакцій. Якщо держава йде з певного сектора, припустімо, не виділяючи достатньої кількості коштів, виникає саморегулювання, і говорити там про корупцію безглуздо.

According to the inquiry, 84% of the respondents disagreed with the idea that the state is acting in their interest. A 79% of respondents thought that the current government is not doing what is best for the country and 76% did not feel that the state is protecting them.

These results, and lack of trust towards the state, are contrasted by a growing trust towards fellow citizens or at least a feeling of solidarity. In some regions (Vinnitsa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovograd) up to 100% of our respondents considers it important to help one other.

Can informal payments in higher education be interpreted as an expression of social solidarity? Is it possible to claim that citizens, although unhappy with having to embark in informal payments and considering it a shameful practice, in the end comply with it as they understood that they are needed to keep the system going?

I maintain that there are two informalities. One, which can be named “positive,” helps a society function in areas where the state fails to operate (beyond the state) or where state institutions and rules are not sufficient to manage a sphere of societal life (in spite of the state). “Negative” informality, on the other hand, tries to replace state structures, institutions, and rules even when they are effective in regulating citizens' lives.

In other words, positive informality complements the state, while negative corrupts the system.

And determination is what can now be seen here, on the streets of Kiev. Hundreds of thousands have come out day after day despite the cold. The mood is more upbeat than perhaps any of the opposition leaders might have expected. There seems no sign of yellow-ness, of ...

Ukraine's public-sector services are constantly under attack for being inadequate, out-of-date, and, mainly, corrupt. Transparency International, an anti-corruption watchdog, ranks Ukraine 107th out of 158 countries it analyzed in its Corruption Perception Index for 2005, ...

Der Artikel untersucht einige der neuesten Tendenzen im Bereich informeller Zahlungen im ukrainischen Gesundheitswesen. Wir betrachten die quantitativen und qualitativen Aspekte von Informalität, um zu zeigen, wie weit verbreitet das Phänomen ist, was die möglichen Ursachen sind und in welchen Situationen die informellen Zahlungen am häufigsten vorkommen. Wir nutzen das Phänomen Informalität als Ausgangspunkt, um einige der wichtigsten Mängel im ukrainischen Gesundheitswesen zu untersuchen.

A recent USAID study showed that more than 2/3 of Ukrainians had encountered corruption in some form in 2015. About 1/5 of them had also come across some corrupted practices every month. The same study shows that 69% of the respondents had somehow engaged in informal practices, mostly cash payments, in state healthcare institutions. How did we get this far?

In Search of a Turkmen Nation

How the bizarre eccentricities of the country’s leaders and a wealth of new customs are contributing to the creation of ‘invented traditions

To the minority of people for whom Turkmenistan is not “just another country ending in –stan,” its notoriety rests on an original combination of characteristics...

http://www.tol.org/client/article/26191-in-search-of-a-turkmen-nation.html

this paper presents a case study of a border region, the L’viv, where dozens of people cross the Polish-Ukrainian border every day to make a living. The aim is to examine some of the issues related to business in border crossing from a closer perspective. We will look at them as forms of resistance, political participation but also as starting points to try to further blur the dividing line between legal and illegal, lawful and unlawful, to distinguish the legal and social approach to restrictions

This chapter is intended to illustrate practices on the boundary between legality and illegality in order
to shed a different light on some of those engaging in diverse transactions. Challenging the vision of a "culture of corruption" (Miller et al 2001) and that “no discount” should be applied to corrupt practices (Papava and Khaduri 2001), the starting question of this chapter is: what makes a practice “corrupt” or
illegal? In this respect I suggest the need to contextualise and de-normativise illegal practices, since they depend on both social and legal norms. From a juridical standpoint a law is a law, but the value and applicability of a law is ultimately decided by people in social practice. What if there is a law and
the state is unable to enforce control or punish anyone because a substantial number of citizens do not follow it? There is a growing body of literature challenging the very significance of a written law in a context where other rules may apply. For instance, Wanner has remarked how a new moral order may
be applied to some spheres of Ukrainian life where the state’s protection is felt to be lacking. How illegal or immoral is it to try to bribe a court if the same court is issuing an order on the basis of false evidence produced against you? (Wanner 2005)

The present chapter raises questions about the validity of international reports and policy analysis on Ukraine, and possibly on the rest of the former Soviet world, that see illegal practices only as a social evil to eradicate. This is the position of a number of strands of developmentalist thought which
uncritically reject possible alternatives (Nederveen Pieterse 2006), positing that it is only a matter of time before transitional countries will adopt a functioning neoliberal model. In contrast to this, it has been argued that that monetary transactions do not encompass or explain economic activity – this is evident from the work of the growing school of diverse economies (Community Economies Collective 2001, Gibson Graham 1996, 2008). In addition, economic effectiveness might not mean the end of non-market oriented transactions (Williams 2005), which may also serve to partially challenge the de-personalisation of power relations in the labour market and the separation between the social and economic sphere predicted by Polanyi (1946, see also Hann and Hart 2009). Empirical evidence has showed that ‘success’ may also be measured by satisfaction of spiritual obligations, being active in social life (Pardo 1996) and that even the meaning of money differs depending on the social and
economic norms of a society (Parry and Bloch 1989).