Can Russia modernise?: sistema, power networks and informal governance

Contents......Page 9
Figures......Page 10
Tables......Page 11
Boxes......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 13
Abbreviations and acronyms......Page 16
From the power of networks to networks of power......Page 19
Paradoxes of modernisation......Page 20
The power of informal networks......Page 25
Informal networks: a problem or a solution?......Page 29
Sistema as a new puzzle......Page 31
Methodology and fieldwork......Page 35
Defining the contours of sistema......Page 37
Diffuse nature......Page 40
Anonymity......Page 41
Open secret......Page 42
Changes and continuities of Putin\'s sistema......Page 43
\'Bottling’: the Soviet administrative-command culture......Page 45
\'Barrelling’: Russian political culture......Page 50
\'Soil and seed’: social network culture, or why comply with oral commands?......Page 54
Factors of change: business and monetisation......Page 59
Factors of change: globalisation......Page 62
Reflexivity: why do good people do bad things?......Page 64
2 Putin\'s sistema: svoi on top......Page 68
Integrating the network dimension into the model......Page 70
Ideal types of power networks......Page 71
Ambivalence of power networks......Page 78
Supportive yet subversive: the functions of power networks......Page 82
Putin\'s vertical of power......Page 87
\'Inner circle’......Page 90
\'Useful friends’......Page 92
\'Core contacts’......Page 95
\'Mediated contacts’......Page 98
Prospects for change......Page 100
Putin on sistema: \'manual control’......Page 103
Corrupt implications of a \'personalised’ bureaucracy......Page 108
Sistema recruitment: who can belong?......Page 111
Economy of kickbacks: sistema\'s control of informal financial flows......Page 116
How blat networks are different from otkat networks......Page 126
An alternative to blat appointments......Page 128
Exit from sistema......Page 130
4 Sistema\'s material culture: from vertushka to Vertu......Page 133
Vertushka paradox: privilege or security trap?......Page 137
Yeltsin and the privatisation of vertushka......Page 143
Putin\'s vertical and vertushka......Page 146
Big business re-shuffle......Page 153
Svoya infrastructure as pattern of resource allocation, svoya network as a pattern of control......Page 155
From vertushka to Vertu......Page 157
The Vertu deal......Page 159
Informal rewards: privileges and the culture of belonging......Page 163
Women\'s power......Page 168
Olga\'s story......Page 170
\'Telephone justice’ in Russian courts......Page 177
Defects of the Russian judicial system: evidence from extradition cases in the UK......Page 184
The Russian Federation as a litigant: the weaknesses of sistema in a global context......Page 187
The future of informal commands......Page 193
6 \'Werewolves in epaulets’: from doublethink to doubledeed......Page 197
The \'Three Whales’ affair: Putin\'s first term......Page 200
The \'Three Whales’ affair continued: Putin\'s second term......Page 203
Corporate raiding v. reiderstvo......Page 206
From reiderstvo to sistema raiding......Page 209
\'Werewolves in epaulets’......Page 212
Doubledeed......Page 213
The invisibles......Page 215
Insecurity forces......Page 216
Globalisation of sistema raiding?......Page 217
Personal appeals: Presidents v. \'werewolves in epaulets’......Page 220
Sistema gives, sistema takes......Page 224
Informal leadership......Page 229
Leaders as patrons and patrons as leaders......Page 230
Putin\'s leadership: manual control and personal loyalty......Page 232
Managing power networks......Page 242
Informal incentives......Page 249
Informal affiliations......Page 251
Informal agendas......Page 254
Informal signals......Page 257
Measuring informal governance......Page 260
Memories of sistema......Page 262
Written evidence on sistema constraints......Page 263
Blat and sistema......Page 265
Specifics of Putin\'s sistema......Page 266
Sistema works......Page 267
Factors of change: financial integration, technological modernisation, legal globalisation......Page 268
The future of Putin\'s sistema: the modernisation trap of informality......Page 270
The paradox of informal power......Page 271
Reflexive modernisation......Page 272
Survey on blat......Page 274
Surveys on telephone justice (telefonnoe pravo)......Page 277
Appendix 2 Interview questions......Page 281
Appendix 3 List of interviews......Page 289
Glossary......Page 291
Bibliography......Page 299
Index......Page 323