About Us

The examples discussed in this publication reflect the multiplicity of informal governance in Central Asia. Across these case studies, we see the many forms informality can take, stretching from patronal politics in Tajikistan to asset seizures in Kyrgyzstan.

 

At first glance, these examples seem distinctly local. Grounded in kinship networks and local practices, it easy to think of Central Asian informality as being far removed from the modern “globalized” world. However, the cases discussed here illustrate that this is not the case.

 

In our first article, we see how Kyrgyz informality was reshaped under the country’s second president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Local practices, such as reiderstvo and neopatrimonialism, were extended across “transnational corruption networks”, as elites used shell companies and financial institutions to seize wealth and hold it overseas.

 

A similar trend is seen in Tajikistan, where patronal politics has created a truly “family run” state. Having relied on familial and political connections to seize control of assets, elites now hide their wealth in a complex network of offshore companies. Even legal disputes have taken on a global dimension. Conflicts over rent-seeking opportunities end not on Tajik soil, but in the courtrooms of the United Kingdom and global tax havens.  

 

Kazakhstan provides a further example of the globalization of Central Asian informality. In the case of Mukhtar Ablyazov and Nursultan Nazarbayev, we see how a rift in local patronage networks has extended beyond the country, as global PR and investigative firms are combined with traditional forms of conflict.

 

Finally, the case of Saimaiti and Abdukadyr presents a different side to informality but one that is no less tied to globalisation. We see how a network of traders, united by kinship ties, used political and criminal ties to establish a smuggling network that stretched across the region. In the process, we see the importance of the informal “bazaar” economy, but also the global networks that facilitate the movement of smuggled goods and the revenues they produce.

 

Across these cases we seek to illustrate the importance of informality in shaping governance across Central Asian politics and society. Yet, we also hope to reveal a broader, and often forgotten truth, that of the link between these “local” practices and the processes of globalization that have defined much of recent history.