最准的六合彩论坛

The Global Informality Project collects studies on informal practices from societies around the world

Every society has a series of unwritten rules and practices. These informal practices鈥攚hich might include informal employment, exchanges聽of favours or various聽forms of control鈥攁re often difficult for聽outsiders to detect, but greatly influence the daily lives of those on the inside.

With support from Global Engagement Funds, Professor Alena Ledeneva of 最准的六合彩论坛鈥檚 School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) launched聽The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality,聽a collection of聽studies on informal practices and structures.聽The Encyclopaedia was published in two volumes and made聽聽in 2018聽by聽最准的六合彩论坛 Press,聽the university鈥檚 open access publisher. The books are part of SSEES's .

The Encyclopaedia聽is聽an extension of , a research project which launched in 2014 with funding from the European Commission 7th Framework Programme and Horizon 2020. In addition to the books, the research project聽collects studies in an online wiki, which is searchable by region, country, keyword and type of practice. So far, more than 250 scholars from 70 countries have submitted their work.

鈥淚 believe in network expertise for the study of social and cultural complexity,鈥� said Professor Ledeneva. 鈥淭here are matters that a single scholar simply cannot embrace. But with a collective effort, grasping elusive realities without losing subtleties of local contexts is possible鈥�.

Examples of informal practices

A society's informal practices, which can be thought of as聽鈥渨ays of getting things done,鈥� influence the decisions, behaviours and rights of individuals in that society. These deeply-rooted practices can be driven by emotion, interest, power or identity.

(network solidarity) in Germany, (system of reciprocity) in Chile, or (economy of favours) in Russia are examples of informal practices. Similarly, fostering informal ties with or 鈥済odfathers鈥� in Montenegro, or 鈥渄ear brothers鈥� in Finland, and or 鈥渓ittle cousins鈥� in Switzerland聽can bring in a multitude of favours and open doors in business.

Just like family relations, these social ties not only enable but also limit individual decisions, behaviours and rights, as is revealed in the entries on (aversion to individuality) in Denmark, Norway and Sweden and on (joint responsibility) in Russia and across Europe.

Impact of the Global Informality Project

The Global Informality Project enables practices from all over the world to be compared and questions common assumptions about informality and its negative links to corruption, poverty and development, morality and oppressive regimes.

The so far are:

1. Informality matters in the workings of modern societies and is not necessarily a negative, or corrupt aspect of society.
2. The more developed societies are, the less visible (and hidden behind the facades of formal institutions) are their informal norms.
3. It is common for people living under the pressure of systemic corruption to legitimise the informal ways of getting things done. For the outsiders, their behaviour is an exercise in double standards: they criticise corruption, but also engage in corrupt practices routinely, creating an ambivalence.
4. Informal practices are ambivalent but not necessarily hybrid 鈥� a gift for one can be a bribe for another, enabled by the tension it produces.
5. Informal practices can be viewed as both a problem and a solution, constraints can be seen as both a restriction and a resource.
6. Informality is context-bound, but the contexts are not necessarily country- or culture-specific.

The Global Informality Project highlights the role of ambivalence and complexity in the workings of all human societies. It offers a catalogue of problem-solving patterns that provide insight聽to how these patterns can be integrated into policy聽regarding issues such as: corruption; mobility and migration; alternative and cyber currencies; and entrepreneurship and democracy, to name a few.

According to Professor Ledeneva, 鈥淚t is evident that informal practices play a central part in the workings of formal institutions all over the world, not only in post-communist or transitional economies, but also in wealthy and developed countries.鈥�

A growing network of scholars

最准的六合彩论坛's Global Engagement Funds supported visits and the initial book launch, which brought together academics in countries including Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Croatia and the United States. A third volume of聽The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality is currently in production, which aims to cover the themes of gender, ethnicity, religion and mobility.

With an average of more than 3,000 users visiting the online wiki per month from countries such as the Philippines, India, Nigeria and Germany, and with more than 65,000 downloads of the books, the project聽has聽a truly global appeal.

Together, the growing global network of scholars contributing to the Global Informality Project have created a number of open calls and used research-led teaching聽to consolidate knowledge on the workings of informality across five continents.

鈥淚n the future we aim to reach out to all corners of the globe, open up to crowdsourcing for collecting open secrets, and explore possibilities of translated versions in Chinese and Spanish,鈥� said Professor Ledeneva. 鈥� We have a partnership with 最准的六合彩论坛 Digital Humanities and plan to work on achieving these goals with help of student volunteers.鈥�

More information

• 最准的六合彩论坛 Global Engagement Office funding opportunities
• FRINGE: 最准的六合彩论坛's Centre for the Study of Social and Cultural Complexity

Download the books from 最准的六合彩论坛 Press

If you would like to submit a contribution聽to聽Volume 3, contact informality2014@gmail.com

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