Rustamjon Urinboyev | Lund University (original) (raw)

Papers by Rustamjon Urinboyev

International political economy series, 2022

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication

Smartphones and social media have become inextricable parts of our daily lives. The everyday live... more Smartphones and social media have become inextricable parts of our daily lives. The everyday lives and communication practices of migrant workers are particularly affected by these global technological developments. Such global developmental trends are especially visible within the growing body of scholarly literature on migrant transnationalism and technology, where mobile phones are examined as central drivers of migrant transnationalism. However, the bulk of the existing literature on “migration and mobile phone technology” focuses on the case studies of immigrant communities living in Western democracies (e.g., the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia). Given the sociopolitical and cultural differences between Western and post-Soviet contexts, we cannot assume that theoretical insights and tools developed in Western contexts are fully applicable in the Russian context. The Russian context provides intriguing insights to “migration and mobile phone technology” debates...

Corruption and Norms, 2017

In this chapter, we explore the multifaceted role, logic and morality of informal transactions in... more In this chapter, we explore the multifaceted role, logic and morality of informal transactions in order to better understand the socio-legal context informing the meaning of corruption. Our aim is to show how informal or illegal practices (‘corruption’ from a legal standpoint) not only mirror kleptocracy, individual greed, economic interests or survival strategies, but also reflect social norms generated through kinship, social status, hierarchies, affection, reciprocity and reputation. We argue that any anti-corruption strategies should be built on a deep knowledge of social norms and local context that determine the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ of everyday social behavior. Our chapter is based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork between 2009 and 2016 in Uzbekistan.

Labour, mobility and informality in post-socialism offers a detailed account of the multi-faceted... more Labour, mobility and informality in post-socialism offers a detailed account of the multi-faceted nature of mobility within, and beyond, post-socialist spaces. Based on a large number of case studies from a variety of authors, it engages with the distinct effects mobility leads to depending on the context. It also explores the causal relationship between enhanced mobility (of people, services, capitals) in the region and the rise, existence and development of informal practices. Mobility is understood here as trans-national, and trans-regional, so that the book is an attempt to go beyond boundaries and borders, acknowledging the variety of mobilities that one can observe in the region. We acknowledge the fact that mobility, as a topic, may be interpreted in an extremely broad sense so that, while collecting our chapters, we asked our authors to construct their empirical case around the question of how mobility can generate, modify and reshape informal practices within a given contex...

The Political Economy of Non-Western Migration Regimes

During our ethnographic fieldwork in Istanbul—in the Kumkapi neighborhood where the majority of U... more During our ethnographic fieldwork in Istanbul—in the Kumkapi neighborhood where the majority of Uzbek migrant workers reside and work—we encountered many Uzbek migrants who were compelled to reroute their migration destination from Russia to Turkey following the introduction of the entry ban legislation in Russia in 2013 and 2014. Since that ban, Turkey has become a popular destination since Uzbeks can travel visa-free and can work and reside there without any immigration documents.

Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia, 2020

Research Report in Sociology of Law; (2) (2020), Nov 18, 2020

Current History, 2020

Russia has become a magnet for migrant workers from other post-Soviet countries, especially Centr... more Russia has become a magnet for migrant workers from other post-Soviet countries, especially Central Asians. Although Russian business elites generally welcome this cheap labor source, the government has deferred to, and at times encouraged, xenophobic popular sentiment. Steadily tightening immigration rules have forced many foreign workers into the informal economy, where they are vulnerable to exploitation. The pandemic and accompanying lockdowns have only added to their difficulties.

Informality, Labour Mobility and Precariousness, 2022

Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia, 2020

The concept of ‘informality’ has become a trendy topic of research in the scholarly literature ab... more The concept of ‘informality’ has become a trendy topic of research in the scholarly literature about post-Soviet societies. The amount of literature focusing on informal practices and networks in post-Soviet space has grown rapidly over last two decades, producing theoretically and empirically grounded accounts of different forms and manifestations of informality, such as clans and regional patronage networks, clientelism, blat networks, bribery, embezzlement, cronyism, kickbacks, etc. One idea common to these aforesaid previous studies is that bulk of them focus on informal practices and their regulatory structures that take place within the boundaries of a single nation-state, thereby confining informality to particular place, field or people, not taking into account the increased (transnational) links between different places and people. Another factor that adds to this complexity is the growing use of information and communication technologies in post-Soviet region, which may re...

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 2018

International political economy series, 2022

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication

Corruption and Norms, 2017

The Political Economy of Non-Western Migration Regimes

Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia, 2020

Research Report in Sociology of Law; (2) (2020), Nov 18, 2020

Current History, 2020

Informality, Labour Mobility and Precariousness, 2022

Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia, 2020

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 2018

Urinboyev, R., 2020. Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Ru... more Urinboyev, R., 2020. Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes: Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.

Collected Essays by Sulev Mäeltsemees, edited by Wolfgang Drechsler and Rauno Mäekivi, on Local G... more Collected Essays by Sulev Mäeltsemees, edited by Wolfgang Drechsler and Rauno Mäekivi, on Local Governance and Municipal Autonomy in Estonia, and in Central and Eastern Europe generally.

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP: FROM ECONOMIC TO POLITICAL INFORMALITY: EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN SHADOW... more INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP: FROM ECONOMIC TO POLITICAL INFORMALITY: EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN SHADOW PRACTICES, POLICY MAKING AND DEVELOPMENT
University of Lund, Sweden, 17-19 September 2019 (Deadline 15th May 2019)

Rationale and main aims of the workshops
While early works on informality mostly explored its economic aspects (shadow economies, informal sector), recent studies have unveiled the multi-faceted nature of informality. From ways to get things done at the top political level (Ledeneva 2013) to everyday resistance (Scott 1985, 2012), informality has been regarded as an integral part of governance structures and mechanisms (Polese et al. 2017). For this workshop, we give continuity to the classification of the four "flavours of informality" (Polese 2019) to regard informal practices as an act of deliberate, if unorganised, non-compliance with formal instructions. At the everyday level, these actions may remain isolated and sterile. However, once they are embraced regularly by a significant portion of a given population they may come to renegotiate, or even reject, policy measures that are regarded, consciously or unconsciously, as inappropriate for a given situation context.

Footing on these assumptions, with this event, we propose to shift attention away from informality perceived, especially at the everyday level, as a mere survival strategy to think in a different direction. When people produce similar, or even the same, patterns of behaviour, informality can acquire political significance and reshape the way policies are implemented in a given context.

Starting from the above assumptions, our workshop has a three-fold goal.

First, it will expand the scope of theoretical research on informality beyond its economic understanding at the national level, something pointed out by studies by Dixit (2007), Helmke and Levitsky (2005) and Stone (2010) as necessary, but not yet systematically studied. We will look at the role of informal practices in the redefinition and renegotiation of business environments and how entrance and exit barriers are created, causing the reversal that state-led measures were intended to bring about.

Second, it will apply this interpretative framework to look at the way policymaking, and development policies, are affected by informality in the transitional world. This will eventually allow us to engage with worldwide debates from a comparative perspective. Our departure point is the post-socialist region, where informality has been widely studied. However, with this workshop, we intend to upscale the scope of our inquiry to Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America.

Third, inasmuch as this has been timidly attempted so far, our event represents a chance to establish and develop a research group on informality that can work on further conceptualizations of the relationship between informality, policy-making and development at a global scale. We anticipate some of the contributions to be invited into an edited volume (we have a preliminary agreement with Routledge). In addition, should we have enough papers with a profound theoretical engagement, we will consider pulling together a special issue of a journal

As a result, we welcome contributions focusing on the following list of topics:
NB the list is non-exhaustive and we are open to considering further perspectives and foci

Measuring informality: novel and mixed methods for the measurement of informal practices, their effects and the rationale behind the desire (active or passive) to engage with informal practices in different contexts and with different ends
Informality and policymaking: studies on the relationship between the formal and the informal; how informal practices affect policymaking at the top level (negotiations of laws and rules, power relations between parties, groups, economic actors); how individuals, groups and non-state actors react, oppose, renegotiate policy measures at the everyday level
Informality and international development: explorations on the role of informal practices in a North-South development context; how instructions by international and development organizations are filtered, renegotiated or opposed when going against the interests of powerful individuals, interest groups, lobbies; how individuals (especially the weak, the marginalized, the poor) react to measures that they do not perceive as necessary, useful or beneficial

Given our initial specialization, our starting point has been the post-socialist world. However, we would like to use this workshop to expand the upscale the scope of our inquiry to a global scale in an attempt to construct comparisons with other world countries and regions.

Technical information
– You will be notified by the 1st of June 2019 on whether your abstract has been accepted. Please note that the dates might slightly change (1-2 days later) but we will send the final dates along with the acceptance letter
– Meals and accommodation during the workshop is covered for all accepted speakers
– There is limited availability of funds to cover travel to and from Lund. If you expect to be unable to get support from your institution, please add this information in your abstract

How to apply
If interested, please send by the 15th of May 2019 in a single word document named after your surname containing:

An abstract and your contact details (300 words)
A short biographical statement (300 words)
if you need financial support for your travel

to Sevara Usmanova at usmanova.c@gmail.com and cc your message to ap@tlu.ee and Rustamjon.Urinboyev@soclaw.lu.se

We are preparing an edited volume to be published in the Palgrave-International Political Economy... more We are preparing an edited volume to be published in the Palgrave-International Political Economy series (series editor Timothy Shaw, University of Massachussets, Boston). This call is part of a multi-annual project that started with a workshop on migration and informality (March 27-28 2018, Lund University) and will continue with a conference possibly in summer 2019. With this book we are also gathering expressions for follow-up initiatives. If interested send an abstract by 30 June 2018 to Email: mobilities_informality2018@gmx.de Rationale Traditionally seen as " exporting " migrants to Western Europe and North America, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, along with the former USSR ones, have recently become important mobility hubs. We start with an understanding of mobility that includes migratory processes to and from these countries. However, and this is the reason we prefer " mobility " to " migration " , we intend to take into account processes that go beyond migratory flows and include, inter alia, consequences of increased mobility for business activities (when mobility of capitals, people, services or items generates revenues, without necessarily resulting from temporary or permanent migrations), or seeking healthcare or other services in places other than your hometown. We believe that a large share of mobility-related activities generates informality, here defined as activities that happen outside the controlling, or coercing, presence of one or more states, or their institutions. There is a good body of literature dealing with migration, mostly from the region. This volume is, in our view, a way to complement existing literature in at least two ways. First, initial trends tended to see the region as strategic for outsourcing. However, the improvement of the economic conditions, along with the recent refugee crisis has added a second category of migrants to the region. This has meant that, in addition to the skilled workers, the region has also witnessed an increasing amount of immigration from people with either low qualifications, no legal right to work or stay or simply missing the skills to quickly integrate into local job markets. The issue of legality is only a marginal one. Indeed, the International Organisation for Migrations warns that only 10% of the migrants worldwide are formally illegal, leading us to think that the most important barriers to socioeconomic and legal integration are not formal but informal. In this respect, a number of studies have pinpointed at the contrast between the – de jure-existence of norms to deal with migrants against a de facto (partial or total) state incapacity to deal with migration flows and integration of foreign citizens in a number of cases.

our workshop has a three-fold goal. First, it will expand the scope of theoretical research on in... more our workshop has a three-fold goal. First, it will expand the scope of theoretical research on informality beyond its economic understanding at the national level, something pointed out in the above studies by Dixit, Helmke and Levitsky and Stone as something necessary, but not yet systematically approached. We will look at the role of informal practices in the redefinition and renegotiation of business environments and how entrance and exit barriers are created, causing the reversal that state-led measures were intended to bring about. Second, it will apply this interpretative framework to look at the way policy making, and development policies, are affected by informality in the transitional world. This will eventually allow us to engage with worldwide debates in a comparative perspective. Our starting point is, indeed, the post-socialist region, where informality has been widely studied. However, with this workshop we intend to upscale the scope of our inquiry to Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America. Third, inasmuch as this has been timidly attempted so far. Our event represents a chances to shed the basis and the social capital to establish and develop a research group on informality that can work together to funding applications and publication projects as outlined below.