Immigration and Refugee Law in Russia: Socio-Legal Perspectives. By Agnieszka Kubal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. [Book review]

Bokrecension. Recenserat verk: Immigration and Refugee Law in Russia: Socio-Legal Perspectives / By Agnieszka Kubal. - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019. xxii, 205 s.Kirja-arvostelu: Immigration and Refugee Law in Russia: Socio-Legal Perspectives / By Agnieszka Kubal. - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019. xxii, 205 s.Book review. Reviewed work: Immigration and Refugee Law in Russia: Socio-Legal Perspectives / By Agnieszka Kubal. - Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019. xxii, 205 pp.Non peer reviewe

Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes

While migration has become a vital issue worldwide, mainstream literature on migrants’ legal adaptation and integration has focused on cases in Western-style democracies. We know relatively little about how migrants adapt in the ever-growing hybrid political regimes that are neither clearly democratic nor conventionally authoritarian. This book takes up the case of Russia—the third largest recipient of migrants worldwide—and investigates how Central Asian migrant workers produce new forms of informal governance and legal order. Migrants use the opportunities provided by a weak rule of law and a corrupt political system to navigate the repressive legal landscape and to negotiate, using informal channels, access to employment and other opportunities that are hard to obtain through the official legal framework of their host country. This lively ethnography presents new theoretical perspectives for studying legal incorporation of immigrants in similar political contexts. “Not only provides a brilliant analysis of the under-researched Russian case but also significantly adds to the existing knowledge of undocumentedness, informality, and migrant agency.” JOAQUÍN ARANGO, COMPLUTENSE UNIVERSITY OF MADRID “Rustamjon Urinboyev’s empathetic interviewing style allows him to illuminate complex social relationships, parallel legal orders, and behavioral norms. A remarkable book, rich in stories of extraordinary people, embedded in theoretical analysis.” JUDITH ALLOT, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, RESEARCH DIRECTOR OF GULAGECHOES “Ethnographically rich and theoretically ambitious, this book reveals the extralegal negotiations through which migrant workers, employers, middlemen, and streetlevel bureaucrats negotiate the Russian migration system. An original and important contribution.” MADELEINE REEVES, UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTE

Corruption in a culture of money: Understanding social norms in post-Soviet Uzbekistan

The aim of this article is to explore the social meaning and ordinary activities surrounding informal transactions in order to better understand the social context forming the premises and informing the meaning of corruption in Uzbekistan. A theoretically founded hypothesis is that informal transactions in Uzbek society reflect different cultural meanings than in the Western world. If this is true, there may be reasons to re-evaluate the concept of corruption in order to reflect the morality of exchange in Uzbekistan. This article is based on two periods of field research between 2009-2010 in Oltiariq district of Fergana region, Uzbekistan. We used ethnographic methods and the case of wedding ceremonies in order to illustrate local perceptions of informal exchange. Our results can be summarised in three main points: (a) informal transactions are deeply embedded in cultural practices; (b) not all informal transactions are corrupt; (c) when talking about (or measuring) corruption, local perceptions should be taken into account

Social Media, Anti-Corruption Activism and Democratisation in Authoritarian Contexts: A Case Study of Uzbekistan

This article aims to examine the nexus between social media, anti-corruption activism and democratisation in authoritarian regime contexts. It will investigate the complex ways in which civil society actors utilise art and humour on social media platforms to engage in covert anti-corruption activism. In doing so, we will show how, in authoritarian contexts, digital (social media) activists creatively navigate the constraints under the conditions of authoritarianism while seeking to address issues of corruption and government inefficiencies. This inquiry is timely given the global surge in authoritarianism. The study focuses on Uzbekistan, exemplifying the challenges of transitioning from repressive to softer authoritarianism while grappling with corruption and limited media freedom. Insights from this analysis offer valuable perspectives on civil society resilience, technology's role, and the pursuit of transparency in non-democratic settings