Challenging the main reports of corruption in Ukraine, this article proposes that most of the 'ec... more Challenging the main reports of corruption in Ukraine, this article proposes that most of the 'economic transactions' that are reported as bribe taking have a deeper meaning and can be analysed within the framework of gift exchange proposed by Marcel Mauss. This paper thus focuses on the three alleged most 'corrupted' places in Ukraine: a university, a hospital and a police control post, in order to develop a detailed analysis of the meanings behind these transactions. Furthermore, it examines the particular role that social actors take within these arrangements. Finally, I propose the recognition of a grey zone between corruptions as evident in the ethnographic examples analysed in the course of this paper.
Dynamiques de nation building et évolution d'une identité nationale en Ukraine: le cas d'Odessa
Résumé: En utilisant le cas d'étude d'une grande ville ukrainienne, Odessa, multicultur... more Résumé: En utilisant le cas d'étude d'une grande ville ukrainienne, Odessa, multiculturelle et russophone, nous tâcherons de mettre en évidence la discordance entre les mesures politiques de «nation building»(et leur qualité) adoptées par le Parlement, leur renégociation et application au niveau local et la manière dont cela affecte l'identité de la population et la perception d'une «nation ukrainienne» dans la ville, de façon à nous concentrer sur l'importance de l'attitude de la population dans un projet de «nation ...
Hybrid forms of governance -where the central state authority does not possess a monopoly of viol... more Hybrid forms of governance -where the central state authority does not possess a monopoly of violence and fails to exercise control -are not only an epiphenomena but a reality likely to persist. This book explores this phenomenon drawing on examples from the Middle East and Africa. It considers the different sorts of actors -state and non-state, public and private, national and transnationalwhich possess power, examines the dynamics of the relationships between central authorities and other actors, and reviews the varying outcomes. The book provides an alternative view of the way in which governance has been constructed and lived, puts forward a conceptualisation of various forms of governance which have hitherto been regarded as exceptions, and argues for such forms of governance to be regarded as part of the norm.
Although access to finance has grown rapidly all over the world, largely based on the expansion o... more Although access to finance has grown rapidly all over the world, largely based on the expansion of the banking sector, informal finance is still common. Rotating savings and credit schemes have been diffused in many countries across the world, including socialist countries, generally stimulated by a lack of access to loans. These schemes are informal (with no formal binding obligations or written rules) and voluntary, and their functioning depends on successful collective action. Although free-riding and other collective action problems would be expected, such cases have been rarely reported. Based on a set of in-depth interviews targeting individuals who were involved in such schemes in four different post-socialist countries, this paper shows an explanation to the question why free-riding was not the dominant strategy. The paper argues that the reputation and other social capital-components coupled with pressuring instruments used for enforcement of socialist ideology have been the key mechanisms that enabled the functioning of the rotating savings and credit schemes. The importance of trust and reputation received a high value in the selection of the schemes' coordinator, group members and size. These enabled the successful implementation of the rotating savings and credit schemes.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
The current article is intended to bring two contributions to the study of informality. Empirical... more The current article is intended to bring two contributions to the study of informality. Empirically, it shares the result of the shadow economy survey for the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years for Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine. These results are used to calculate the shadow economy index estimated as a percentage of the GDP. Already established as an annual exercise for Latvia and the Baltics since 2010, the survey has been applied to Moldova and Romania (since 2016), Poland (2015-2016), and Kosovo (in 2018). In the frame of the project "SHADOW: An Exploration of the Nature of Informal Economies and Shadow Practices in the Former USSR Region," the scope of the survey was expanded to Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, keeping the same methodology and used for direct measurement of underground activities. 2 By doing this, we discuss the use of direct measurement approaches to suggest that, while quantitative approaches are useful to estimate the size of shadow economies, direct approaches can be used to integrate these data and look for deeper correlations between the persistence of shadow transactions and some societal tendencies that are not necessarily economic.
Ukraine's public-sector services are constantly under attack for being inadequate, out-of-da... more Ukraine's public-sector services are constantly under attack for being inadequate, out-of-date, and, mainly, corrupt. Transparency International, an anti-corruption watchdog, ranks Ukraine 107th out of 158 countries it analyzed in its Corruption Perception Index for 2005, ...
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Papers by Abel Polese