This article deals with the affective aspects of indebtedness in present-day Serbia. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Belgrade and Šabac during the period 2016-19, it analyses gendered aspects of affective states created and triggered by indebtedness. Indebtedness is here conceptualized to involve not just material and financial obligation, but also asymmetry in emotional labour. That way, the article contributes to the line of research that challenges understandings of debt as a binary relationship between creditor and debtor and argues for a perspective that encompasses the complex affective involvements of indebted subjects and the imbrication of indebtedness, emotional labour, love and care in the everyday life. The ethnographic fieldwork setting is kafana, a tavern with the live neofolk music, which is a space for reflection, expression or venting of the affects, but primarily for their modification, and therefore a primary site for research on postsocialist affect(s). Through the ethnographic vignettes of requesting, performing and consuming songs, as well as material obtained from the pre- and post-performance conversations with employees and customers who found themselves in different situations of debt, it analyses the affective registers of indebtedness and points out that the gendered asymmetry in care debt is formulated in the language and logic of emotional capitalism.
{"title":"Debt and Emotional Labour in Present Day Serbia","authors":"M. Mitrovic","doi":"10.5617/jea.9467","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9467","url":null,"abstract":"This article deals with the affective aspects of indebtedness in present-day Serbia. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Belgrade and Šabac during the period 2016-19, it analyses gendered aspects of affective states created and triggered by indebtedness. Indebtedness is here conceptualized to involve not just material and financial obligation, but also asymmetry in emotional labour. That way, the article contributes to the line of research that challenges understandings of debt as a binary relationship between creditor and debtor and argues for a perspective that encompasses the complex affective involvements of indebted subjects and the imbrication of indebtedness, emotional labour, love and care in the everyday life. The ethnographic fieldwork setting is kafana, a tavern with the live neofolk music, which is a space for reflection, expression or venting of the affects, but primarily for their modification, and therefore a primary site for research on postsocialist affect(s). Through the ethnographic vignettes of requesting, performing and consuming songs, as well as material obtained from the pre- and post-performance conversations with employees and customers who found themselves in different situations of debt, it analyses the affective registers of indebtedness and points out that the gendered asymmetry in care debt is formulated in the language and logic of emotional capitalism.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"90 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122842780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This introduction to the special issue outlines important anthropological insights into debt relations and relations of indebtedness drawing on my own research on post-Soviet economies as well as on the contributions to this special issue. This special issue deals with post-socialist and post-Soviet economies that embarked on similar economic paths after the collapse of the communist regime.
{"title":"Measuring Humans Through Money","authors":"R. Turaeva","doi":"10.5617/jea.9791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9791","url":null,"abstract":"This introduction to the special issue outlines important anthropological insights into debt relations and relations of indebtedness drawing on my own research on post-Soviet economies as well as on the contributions to this special issue. This special issue deals with post-socialist and post-Soviet economies that embarked on similar economic paths after the collapse of the communist regime.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115760828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Any relations and practices of debt within credit networks include not only pure economic exchange, such as barter or non-monetary exchange, but diverse kinds of social relations of debt. In this article, we consider case studies embedded in the particular context of early and late post-Soviet economic and political crisis, in which economic informalization was characterised by ‘wild capitalism’ or the absence of cash and livelihoods. We observe the coping strategies and mechanisms of economic survival adopted by ordinary people in response to these crises and to the absence of state social and economic institutions. We portray people’s concrete experiences of debt, solidary social relations, and economic exchange based on debt relationships in post-Soviet economies. The case studies are drawn from ethnographic material from Uzbekistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. Our case studies reveal that debt relations are not about two individuals who owe money but serve as the basis for debt-based trade, survival, and socializing networks, as well as part of moral economies. The article builds on scholarly works related to informal economies and survival mechanisms in post-Soviet space, to anthropology of debt, as well as discussion of (dis)trust.
{"title":"Relations of Debt and Credit Networks in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan, Russia and Kazakhstan","authors":"R. Turaeva, Zarina Adambussinova","doi":"10.5617/jea.9320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9320","url":null,"abstract":"Any relations and practices of debt within credit networks include not only pure economic exchange, such as barter or non-monetary exchange, but diverse kinds of social relations of debt. In this article, we consider case studies embedded in the particular context of early and late post-Soviet economic and political crisis, in which economic informalization was characterised by ‘wild capitalism’ or the absence of cash and livelihoods. We observe the coping strategies and mechanisms of economic survival adopted by ordinary people in response to these crises and to the absence of state social and economic institutions. We portray people’s concrete experiences of debt, solidary social relations, and economic exchange based on debt relationships in post-Soviet economies. The case studies are drawn from ethnographic material from Uzbekistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. Our case studies reveal that debt relations are not about two individuals who owe money but serve as the basis for debt-based trade, survival, and socializing networks, as well as part of moral economies. The article builds on scholarly works related to informal economies and survival mechanisms in post-Soviet space, to anthropology of debt, as well as discussion of (dis)trust.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128499029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article is about practices of borrowing and lending money in the context of Georgian bazaar trade. While many anthropological studies focus on debtors or individual moneylenders, this article starts from the perspective of microcredit experts, who grant loans to traders on behalf of their companies and thereby engage in complex relationships. Borrowing money from a microcredit institution consists of an administrative act, which is sealed by formal procedures such as signing a contract, but the bazaar is a sphere that is, at least partially, structured by informal practices and personal relationships. To make a profit, microcredit experts must play a risky and sometimes existential game. They must decide whether to trust or not to trust a client. In order to assess and minimize risk, they immerse themselves into the world of their clients and rely on social values and moralities. This article describes their strategies and thus gives insights into the nature of debts, obligations, relationships, institutional frameworks, and informal practices in the context of microfinance in the Georgian bazaar trade sector.
{"title":"Debt Relations in Georgian Bazaars","authors":"Susanne Fehlings","doi":"10.5617/jea.9466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9466","url":null,"abstract":"This article is about practices of borrowing and lending money in the context of Georgian bazaar trade. While many anthropological studies focus on debtors or individual moneylenders, this article starts from the perspective of microcredit experts, who grant loans to traders on behalf of their companies and thereby engage in complex relationships. Borrowing money from a microcredit institution consists of an administrative act, which is sealed by formal procedures such as signing a contract, but the bazaar is a sphere that is, at least partially, structured by informal practices and personal relationships. To make a profit, microcredit experts must play a risky and sometimes existential game. They must decide whether to trust or not to trust a client. In order to assess and minimize risk, they immerse themselves into the world of their clients and rely on social values and moralities. This article describes their strategies and thus gives insights into the nature of debts, obligations, relationships, institutional frameworks, and informal practices in the context of microfinance in the Georgian bazaar trade sector.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"49 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125986198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A damaged police vehicle near the Kitex Garments premises the day after the Christmas night violence.
圣诞夜暴力事件第二天，Kitex制衣店附近一辆受损的警车。
{"title":"Political Servitude Taking Ride on Corporate Social Responsibility Bandwagon","authors":"KP Sethunath","doi":"10.5617/jea.9613","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9613","url":null,"abstract":"A damaged police vehicle near the Kitex Garments premises the day after the Christmas night violence.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"436 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116587350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bribery relations are a way to cope with the uncertainties of everyday life for many people living in Tanzania. For members of the Tanzanian Indian communities, the uncertainties not only count the faltering bureaucratic systems and a state lacking legitimacy. Being members of a resourceful yet marginalized ethnic group within a nation that has not been willing or able to offer them protection also puts Tanzanian Indian communities in a vulnerable position. Bribery friends, as this article shows, are relations that despite, or perhaps owing to, their uncertain nature create a level of certainty and protection. ‘Playing the game’, meaning to accept and engage in bribery, becomes a way for the Tanzanian Indians to control and claim both distance and belonging to a nation that never really accepted them as true citizens. Investigating the moral economy of bribery among Tanzanian Indians, the article argues that the experiences and logics of bribery help us to get a deeper understanding of Tanzanian Indians’ perception of the state and their role in it, which is, above all, ambiguous.
{"title":"Making Friends and Playing the Game","authors":"Cecil Marie Schou Pallesen","doi":"10.5617/jea.9302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9302","url":null,"abstract":"Bribery relations are a way to cope with the uncertainties of everyday life for many people living in Tanzania. For members of the Tanzanian Indian communities, the uncertainties not only count the faltering bureaucratic systems and a state lacking legitimacy. Being members of a resourceful yet marginalized ethnic group within a nation that has not been willing or able to offer them protection also puts Tanzanian Indian communities in a vulnerable position. Bribery friends, as this article shows, are relations that despite, or perhaps owing to, their uncertain nature create a level of certainty and protection. ‘Playing the game’, meaning to accept and engage in bribery, becomes a way for the Tanzanian Indians to control and claim both distance and belonging to a nation that never really accepted them as true citizens. Investigating the moral economy of bribery among Tanzanian Indians, the article argues that the experiences and logics of bribery help us to get a deeper understanding of Tanzanian Indians’ perception of the state and their role in it, which is, above all, ambiguous.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"24 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"120859669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Despite the iconic nature of the Manhattan skyline, there are only four places the public can see it from and those are the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, ONE World Trade Center and the recently opened EDGE at Hudson Yards. All other elevated views are a private privilege, only available to owners of luxury penthouses. Posing as an apartment-hunting Hungarian billionaire, Andi Schmied accessed and documented the views of over thirty of the city’s most exclusive high-rise properties. Her book, Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan, offers a glimpse into this elite world. Showcasing the surreal strategies of persuasion used by real estate agents, the book allows readers to bypass the gatekeepers of luxury real estate; guiding them through the sunset from Trump Tower, dawn over Central Park from the tallest residential tower on Earth, and showing samples of the most luxurious materials, such as the Siberian marble, used in soaking tubs overlooking the Statue of Liberty. The skyscrapers visited by Schmied were carefully selected due to their representation of a new type of luxury. Those selected for their architectural interest include the MOMA Expansion Tower by Jean Nouvel, Gehry Tower, Jenga Tower, and 432 Park Avenue. Among the buildings visited for political reasons were the Trump Tower or Time Warner Centre, where recently more than a dozen owners have gone to prison, after anonymously buying an apartment through shell companies. For buildings of economic interest, Schmied visited 220 Central Park South, where its penthouse duplex has been sold for a record sales price. Other buildings selected ranged from reconstructed early American skyscrapers to luxury condos (such as the Woolworth Tower Residences, or 70 Pine) and penthouse suites for sale within luxury hotels (such as the Four Seasons, or Ritz Carlton). Schmied’s project is an art and architecture project, but the outcome touches upon various professional fields, such as sociology, economy, urban studies, and anthropology.
尽管曼哈顿天际线具有标志性的性质，但公众只能从四个地方看到它，它们是帝国大厦、洛克菲勒中心、世界贸易中心一号大楼和最近在哈德逊广场开业的EDGE。所有其他的高层景观都是私人特权，只有豪华顶层公寓的业主才能享有。安迪·施米德伪装成一个寻找公寓的匈牙利亿万富翁，访问并记录了三十多座城市最高档高层物业的景观。她的书《私人视野:曼哈顿高层全景》让我们得以一窥这个精英世界。这本书展示了房地产经纪人使用的超现实主义说服策略，让读者绕过豪华房地产的看门人;带他们从特朗普大厦(Trump Tower)看日落，从地球上最高的住宅楼看中央公园(Central Park)的黎明，并向他们展示最豪华材料的样品，比如用来俯瞰自由女神像(Statue of Liberty)的浴缸的西伯利亚大理石。Schmied参观的摩天大楼都是经过精心挑选的，因为它们代表了一种新型的奢华。入选的建筑兴趣包括让·努维尔设计的MOMA扩建塔、盖里大厦、叠叠塔和公园大道432号。出于政治原因造访的建筑包括特朗普大厦(Trump Tower)和时代华纳中心(Time Warner Centre)。最近，有十几名业主通过空壳公司匿名购买了一套公寓，因此锒铛入狱。对于具有经济价值的建筑，施米德参观了中央公园南220号，那里的顶层复式公寓以创纪录的价格售出。其他入选的建筑包括从重建的早期美国摩天大楼到豪华公寓(如伍尔沃斯大厦公寓，或松树街70号)和豪华酒店(如四季酒店或丽思卡尔顿酒店)内出售的顶层套房。Schmied的项目是一个艺术和建筑项目，但其成果涉及多个专业领域，如社会学、经济学、城市研究和人类学。
{"title":"On Private Views, Luxury and Corruption","authors":"T. Kuldova, Andi Schmied","doi":"10.5617/jea.9566","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9566","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the iconic nature of the Manhattan skyline, there are only four places the public can see it from and those are the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, ONE World Trade Center and the recently opened EDGE at Hudson Yards. All other elevated views are a private privilege, only available to owners of luxury penthouses. Posing as an apartment-hunting Hungarian billionaire, Andi Schmied accessed and documented the views of over thirty of the city’s most exclusive high-rise properties. Her book, Private Views: A High-Rise Panorama of Manhattan, offers a glimpse into this elite world. Showcasing the surreal strategies of persuasion used by real estate agents, the book allows readers to bypass the gatekeepers of luxury real estate; guiding them through the sunset from Trump Tower, dawn over Central Park from the tallest residential tower on Earth, and showing samples of the most luxurious materials, such as the Siberian marble, used in soaking tubs overlooking the Statue of Liberty. The skyscrapers visited by Schmied were carefully selected due to their representation of a new type of luxury. Those selected for their architectural interest include the MOMA Expansion Tower by Jean Nouvel, Gehry Tower, Jenga Tower, and 432 Park Avenue. Among the buildings visited for political reasons were the Trump Tower or Time Warner Centre, where recently more than a dozen owners have gone to prison, after anonymously buying an apartment through shell companies. For buildings of economic interest, Schmied visited 220 Central Park South, where its penthouse duplex has been sold for a record sales price. Other buildings selected ranged from reconstructed early American skyscrapers to luxury condos (such as the Woolworth Tower Residences, or 70 Pine) and penthouse suites for sale within luxury hotels (such as the Four Seasons, or Ritz Carlton). Schmied’s project is an art and architecture project, but the outcome touches upon various professional fields, such as sociology, economy, urban studies, and anthropology.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128093852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rajan, Sudhir Chella. 2020. A Social Theory of Corruption: Notes from the Indian Subcontinent. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.","authors":"T. Kuldova","doi":"10.5617/jea.9561","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9561","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132576113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This is a summary of some of the main arguments and findings of the book ¿Corrupción pública o privada? La dimensión ideológica de los discursos anti-corrupción en Colombia, Ecuador y Albania (Bogotá: Tirant lo Blanch, 2020). The book compares the official anti-corruption discourses of president Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) in Colombia, president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) in Ecuador and prime minister Edi Rama (2013-present) in Albania. It shows that although these three countries face very similar levels and perceptions of corruption their governments articulate this phenomenon differently due to their distinct ideological positions. While the neoliberal governments of Santos and Rama defined corruption primarily as abuse of public office and locate it mainly in the public sector, or in its interaction with the private one, the government of Rafael Correa, which embraced the 21st Century Socialism, defined corruption primarily as a problem of the private sector that captures and distorts the public sector.
这是对《¿Corrupción pública o privada?》这本书的一些主要论点和发现的总结。La dimensión ideológica de los discursos anti-corrupción在哥伦比亚，厄瓜多尔和阿尔巴尼亚(波哥大: Tirant lo Blanch, 2020)。这本书比较了哥伦比亚总统胡安·曼努埃尔·桑托斯(Juan Manuel Santos, 2010-2018)、厄瓜多尔总统拉斐尔·科雷亚(Rafael Correa, 2007-2017)和阿尔巴尼亚总理埃迪·拉马(Edi Rama, 2013-至今)的官方反腐言论。它表明，尽管这三个国家面临着非常相似的腐败水平和看法，但由于其不同的意识形态立场，政府对这一现象的表述不同。桑托斯和拉玛的新自由主义政府将腐败主要定义为滥用公职，并将其主要定位在公共部门，或与私营部门的互动中，而拉斐尔·科雷亚(Rafael Correa)政府信奉21世纪社会主义，将腐败主要定义为私营部门捕获和扭曲公共部门的问题。
{"title":"Public or private corruption?","authors":"Blendi Kajsiu","doi":"10.5617/jea.9243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.9243","url":null,"abstract":"This is a summary of some of the main arguments and findings of the book ¿Corrupción pública o privada? La dimensión ideológica de los discursos anti-corrupción en Colombia, Ecuador y Albania (Bogotá: Tirant lo Blanch, 2020). The book compares the official anti-corruption discourses of president Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) in Colombia, president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) in Ecuador and prime minister Edi Rama (2013-present) in Albania. It shows that although these three countries face very similar levels and perceptions of corruption their governments articulate this phenomenon differently due to their distinct ideological positions. While the neoliberal governments of Santos and Rama defined corruption primarily as abuse of public office and locate it mainly in the public sector, or in its interaction with the private one, the government of Rafael Correa, which embraced the 21st Century Socialism, defined corruption primarily as a problem of the private sector that captures and distorts the public sector. ","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128979002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The 2020 presidential and 2021 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova saw a clear victory of the populist Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) of the newly elected president Maia Sandu over the pro-Russian coalition led by former presidents Igor Dodon and Vladimir Voronin. These results testify the citizens’ will to change a country with an ever-widening gap between politicians and populace. Since 2015, the political debate is centred on corruption, but the cases described draw the picture of a political landscape where practices go beyond the traditional understanding of the term. In fact, their analysis demonstrates the existence of a system of Soviet political culture which relies on informal practices of the elite, arguing that some of these practices have clear Soviet roots while others are an adaptation of the Soviet mentality to the new liberal democratic setting. The paper also highlights differences between the populist parties born either as a reaction to the system or as an adaptation of the elite response to perceived expectations of the electorate. This research took place between 2020 and 2021 utilising participant observation and semi-structured interviews with Moldovan political experts. The paper concludes that future research on Moldovan politics should incorporate analysis of this informal dimension to state politics which is core to public debate on corruption and the integrity of state institutions in Moldova.
{"title":"Populism in Moldova’s Informal Political System","authors":"Gian Marco Moisé","doi":"10.5617/jea.8986","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5617/jea.8986","url":null,"abstract":"The 2020 presidential and 2021 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova saw a clear victory of the populist Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) of the newly elected president Maia Sandu over the pro-Russian coalition led by former presidents Igor Dodon and Vladimir Voronin. These results testify the citizens’ will to change a country with an ever-widening gap between politicians and populace. Since 2015, the political debate is centred on corruption, but the cases described draw the picture of a political landscape where practices go beyond the traditional understanding of the term. In fact, their analysis demonstrates the existence of a system of Soviet political culture which relies on informal practices of the elite, arguing that some of these practices have clear Soviet roots while others are an adaptation of the Soviet mentality to the new liberal democratic setting. The paper also highlights differences between the populist parties born either as a reaction to the system or as an adaptation of the elite response to perceived expectations of the electorate. This research took place between 2020 and 2021 utilising participant observation and semi-structured interviews with Moldovan political experts. The paper concludes that future research on Moldovan politics should incorporate analysis of this informal dimension to state politics which is core to public debate on corruption and the integrity of state institutions in Moldova.","PeriodicalId":190492,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Extreme Anthropology","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124566079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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