Introduction: Informality and power in the South Caucasus

Polese, Abel; Rekhviashvili, Lela

doi:10.4324/9781315100135-11

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Some investigations which took place included a perspective on: street vending (Bromley, 2000;Rekhviashvili, 2015) adaptations of garages and basements for commercial purposes (Vasilevska et al, 2015), increase in self-built habitats and informal settlements in the former Yugoslavia, the Caucasus and Central Asia (Tsenkova, 2009), self-built extensions in large housing estates in Georgia (Bouzarovski et al, 2011;Salukvadze and Golubchikov, 2016), land invasions in Kyrgyzstan (Hatcher 2015) and the development of semi-regularised transport networks in cities such as Bishkek (Rekhviashvili and Sgibnev 2018). The most recent contributions engage with literature in the South more frequently and take a perspective on the issues of governance and power (Polese and Rekhviashvili, 2017).…”

Section: State Of the Art: Informality Research In Urban Studies And The Global Circulation Of Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some investigations which took place include those on street vending (Bromley, 2000; Rekhviashvili, 2015), adaptations of garages and basements for commercial purposes (Vasilevska et al, 2015), the increase in self-built habitats and informal settlements in the former Yugoslavia, the Caucasus and Central Asia (Tsenkova, 2009), self-built extensions in large housing estates in Georgia (Bouzarovski et al, 2011; Salukvadze and Golubchikov, 2016), land invasions in Kyrgyzstan (Hatcher, 2015) and the development of semi-regularised transport networks in cities such as Bishkek (Rekhviashvili and Sgibnev, 2018). The most recent contributions engage with literature in the South more frequently and take a perspective on the issues of governance and power (Polese and Rekhviashvili, 2017). However, in spite of the similarity with some urban phenomena in the South (Grubbauer and Kusiak, 2012; Robinson, 2016b) and historic connectivity between these contexts (Stanek, 2020), efforts to link across the East and the South (and sometimes the North) are still nascent (see Grashoff, 2020; Hilbrandt et al, 2017; Kębłowski and Rekhviashvili, 2020).…”

Section: State Of the Art: Informality Research In Urban Studies And ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The growing body of literature that recognises issues of power, informality and its multidimensional potential as a site of critical analysis (Banks et al, 2020) remains at odds with the more conventional view on informality held by planning practice and parts of the academic sector. In this conservative perspective, informality is criminalised and orientalised as a foreign or transitional phenomenon (Polese and Rekhviashvili, 2017). Consequently, within the analytical focus of post-socialist urban studies, phenomena such as self-built extensions within large housing estates, either for living or commerce, were seen as resulting primarily from the absence of rules or loosening of governmental control (Vasilevska et al, 2015).…”

Section: Planning Practice and Perceptions Of Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Transcending path dependencies: Why the study of post-socialist cities needs to capitalise on the discussion on urbanisation in the South (and vice versa)

Gałuszka

2021

Urban Studies

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Recently, the theoretical relevance and utility of the regionalised notion of post-socialist cities have been questioned. The ensuing debate has resulted in several positions, including suggestions to drop the term entirely or to create a distinctive narrative based on the concept of a Global East, in order to position the knowledge as equal vis-a-vis discourses originating from Western power centres. This article responds to this call through efforts to transcend the dominant frames of research on post-socialist cities. However, I argue that the first step in overcoming the subaltern positioning of local knowledge is to refocus attention on previously marginalised urban phenomena, and to link the post-socialist research agenda to existing empowering discourses. The importance of creating linkages with the research originating from the South, and the potential for such joint engagements to contribute to global theory-making are discussed in the context of the study of urban informality.

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Section: State Of the Art: Informality Research In Urban Studies And The Global Circulation Of Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: State Of the Art: Informality Research In Urban Studies And ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Planning Practice and Perceptions Of Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Transcending path dependencies: Why the study of post-socialist cities needs to capitalise on the discussion on urbanisation in the South (and vice versa)

Gałuszka

2021

Urban Studies

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“…However, less attention has been paid to the ways in which the relation between security and informality contributes to producing hegemony in state politics. Therefore, we are interested in the ‘constructive power of informality’ (Polese and Rekhviashvili, 2017) in the field of security.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

TRANSFORMED SECURITY PRACTICES: Informalization in the Production of Hegemony and Place

Guarneros‐Meza¹,

Jenss²

2022

Int J Urban Regional Res

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The article builds an analytical framework to study the relation between security and informality and the extent to which it contributes to producing hegemony in local politics. By emphasizing a processual understanding of hegemony, the article develops a twofold argument: (1) structurally powerful actors with well-established links to state institutions carry out informal practices just as well as those often perceived to be at the 'margins' of the state; and (2) subaltern groups are capable of transforming their society while also inadvertently reproducing hegemonic security practices. The analytical framework is unpacked through two Mexican cases: the Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias -Policia Comunitaria (CRAC-PC) in Guerrero State and neighbourhood vigilantism in Oaxaca City. The CRAC-PC case shows that procedures in which hegemony is challenged involve actors resorting to state institutions (law, judiciary) coupled by paralegal institutions that enhance placemaking of rural indigenous communities. The Oaxacan case shows how communities challenge state actors through a series of practices that bring people together into networks that put into question the hegemonic organization of in/security at city level. The analytical framework helps to break the dichotomization of formality and informality and to clarify how informality is practised in struggles both for and against hegemony.

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“…(von Steinsdorff & Fruhstorfer 2012, p. 118). Despite a growing literature on legitimacy-building efforts of de facto states (Broers 2013;O'Loughlin et al 2014;Comai 2018), especially on the significance of informal patron-client networks in post-Soviet politics (Aliyev 2015;Polese & Rekhviashvili 2017), the actual diplomatic practices of legitimacy-building remain understudied (Dembińska & Campana 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Transnistria’s Order of Friendship: Legitimacy Through Diplomatic Practice

Nishikawa-Pacher¹

2020

Europe-Asia Studies

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What strategies do de facto states employ in conducting their diplomacy? This article examines Transnistria's Order of Friendship, a state award that primarily targets foreigners, by analysing the profiles of all known award recipients. The Order is found to be a political tool to enhance Transnistria's domestic and external legitimacy in the absence of recognised sovereignty. The findings confirm the literature on Transnistria's 'bandwagoning' with Russia, indicate that a patron's support must be actively sought rather than taken for granted, andsince many awardees are from jurisdictions other than the patron state Russia-point to the need to examine the foreign policy of de facto states more holistically. WHEN, IN 2012, TRANSNISTRIA ESTABLISHED THE ORDER OF FRIENDSHIP as its only state award primarily aimed at foreigners, 1 there were good reasons to doubt that the de facto state 2 still enjoyed a strong commitment from its patron state Russia. In the preceding year, Russia had backed a defeated candidate in the Transnistrian presidential election, pressuring the newly elected de facto government under the leadership of Evgenii Shevchuk to 'convince his Russian ally of the continuity of Transnistria's devotedness' (Istomin & Bolgova 2016, p. 12). The cooling of relations between Russia and Transnistria was indicated by, inter alia, the eruption of a dispute on gas prices in Transnistria, the closure of the Russian quasi-consulate in Tiraspol, and investigations regarding the son of a former Transnistrian de facto president for allegedly embezzling Russian aid (Devyatkov 2012, pp. 57-8).

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Introduction: Informality and power in the South Caucasus

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

Transcending path dependencies: Why the study of post-socialist cities needs to capitalise on the discussion on urbanisation in the South (and vice versa)

Transcending path dependencies: Why the study of post-socialist cities needs to capitalise on the discussion on urbanisation in the South (and vice versa)

TRANSFORMED SECURITY PRACTICES: Informalization in the Production of Hegemony and Place

Transnistria’s Order of Friendship: Legitimacy Through Diplomatic Practice

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