When informal institutions change : institutional reforms and informal practices in the former Soviet Union / Huseyn Aliyev.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Aliyev, Huseyn, author.

Contributor:

Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan), publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political culture--Former Soviet republics.

Political culture.

Former Soviet republics--Social conditions.

Former Soviet republics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (284 pages)

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2017]

Summary:

Huseyn Aliyev examines how, when, and under which conditions democratic institutional reforms affect informal institutions in hybrid regimes, or countries transitioning to democracy. He analyzes the impact of institutional changes on the use of informal practices and what happens when democratic reforms succeed. Does informality disappear, or do elites and populations continue relying on informal structures? When Informal Institutions Change engages with a growing body of literature on informal practices and institutions in political science, economics, sociology, and beyond. Aliyev proposes expanding the analysis of the impact of institutional reforms on informal institutions beyond disciplinary boundaries, and combines theoretical insights from comparative politics with economic and social theories on informal relations. In addition, Aliyev offers insights that are relevant to democratization, institutionalism, and human geography. Detailed case studies of three transitional post-Soviet regimes--Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine--illustrate the contentious relationship between democratic institutional reforms and informality in the broader post-Soviet context. Aliyev shows that in order for institutional reform to succeed in strengthening, democratizing, and formalizing institutions, it is important to approach informal practices and institutions as instrumental for its effectiveness. These findings have implications not only for hybrid regimes, but also for other post-Soviet or post-communist countries.

Contents:

Informality: unraveling the knot

Mapping informality

Institutional reforms and informality

Georgia: reforming an informal state into a hybrid regime

Moldova: informal reforms of formal institutions

Ukraine: reversing decades of informalization

Conclusion: reforms and informality in a comparative perspective

Appendix: Research methodology

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Issued as part of book collections on Project MUSE.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9780472123100

0472123106

OCLC:

1001412347

Publisher Number:

10.3998/mpub.8772004