History of the Project

The newsletters trace the development of the Global Informality Project.

Newsletter No 13 - 28 March 2018

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality book launch went well in London on 22 March 2018. Over 25 authors came together for the event. The write-ups of brainstorming ideas on the future of the Global Informality Project will be on www.in-formality.com soon. Five themes included: informal governance, complexity and pattern recognition; theory and practice of ambivalence; superseding dichotomies, and cyber-informality. Full version is online (SCROLL to 6:13min for a start):

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/live/the-global-encyclopedia-of-informality-book-launch

Many authors have helped celebrate the publication around the world: David Jancsics has publicized the book at the 50th anniversary of San Diego State University’s School of Public Affairs on March 9th 2018; Eduard Klein has helped promote Encyclopaedia at a think tank event in Berlin; Rustam Urinboyev and Abel Polese have organized a launch at University of Lund. Photos and videos will be on www.in-formality.com.

PUBLICISING YOUR ENTRY

Your entry can be included in your email signature and to your profile on you university website; social media (Facebook; Twitter; Linkedin); and various research gates (Academia; ResearchGate; SSRN). To refer to the specific page in the volume, you have to add "#page=X" where X is the page number of the entry you want to refer to. For example, entry "kula" in Volume 2 is on page 386 of the document. (NOTE: this is not the page number on the bottom of that page. You need to open the PDF in a web browser like Chrome, and then see what page number “kula” appears on, according to the browser.) It takes a little while to download.

So you can then add that to the URL to give: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10041172/1/The-Global-Encyclopaedia-of-Informality-Volume-2.pdf#page=386

PURCHASING YOUR PAPER COPY

On request from some of you, I include the contact if you would like to purchase a discounted copy (a third OFF the retail price) – email to uclpresspublishing@ucl.ac.uk, and the UCL distributor will invoice you. Name of book: The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality. Volume X Format: Paperback/Hardback Your name: Delivery address: Email: Contact tel # Invoice name/address/email (if not the same as above).

PLANING NEXT LAUNCH EVENTS

Thank you to all authors who has volunteered already to organize book launch events in their universities and other professional platforms and associations. In alphabetical order: Telebridge UCL - Indiana University, Bloomington/ 6 April/ with Justin Otten Skopje, Macedonia (FYROM) / April date tbc/ contact Misha Popovikj Bazel, Switzerland - 24 April/ contact Lucy Koelcin and Claudia Baez Camargo Belgrade, Serbia/ date tbc/ contact Ivana Spasic and Predrag Cveticanin Moscow, Russia /7-8 June Tokyo, Japan /date tbc/ contact Yuko Adachi Riga, Latvia /22 October/ contact Klāvs Sedlenieks IAS Paris, France / November date tbc/ Boston 50th annual ASEEES convention --New York, NY--Washington / December 2018

WELCOME TO THE TEAM

Petra Matijevic is appointed Research Associate by the INFORM project ("Closing the Gap between Formal and Informal Institutions in the Balkans", Horizon 2020 project no 693537) to work on the West Balkans and Global Informality Project website. Contact: informality2014@gmail.com At it happens this time of year, we are joined by the UCL Digital Humanities intern Orla Delauney. Warm welcome to both!

Many thanks to all authors and enthusiasts again!!! We have done a great job on the Encyclopaedia, now let us make the website work!

Alena Ledeneva, Professor of Politics and Society, University College London

Newsletter No 1 - 5 October 2015

Dear Author, You are receiving this email because you have submitted or have agreed to submit an entry towards the Global Encyclopaedia of Informality.

The editorial team has been working really hard this summer and we are happy to report a few developments. First of all, we now have around 70 entries almost ready to go to the publisher. If everyone is on schedule with their deadlines we should be able to assemble a near 100 entries strong volume.

As Editor-in-Chief, I would like to update you on the progress of my negotiations with the publishers. As some of you know, the Encyclopaedia is part of the list of publications of the FP7 ANTICORRP project, and Cambridge University Press is considering our book proposal and sample entries (12) as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between CUP and ANTICORRP. We expected an answer from the Press by September, but have not received it yet. It is normal for CUP to be slow and I will keep you updated on the progress. According to the FP7 ANTICORRP schedule, we are to submit the complete manuscript in January 2016.

In the meantime, I am exploring other publication options and have sent another proposal to the UCL Press (University College London). The UCL Press is a new one and will be leading on ‘open access’ publications. The latter makes it really attractive to the Global Informality Project as we aim to reach out to the general public and eventually to collect data through crowdsourcing. I have received an enthusiastic response from the Commissioning editor, but as elsewhere the process is going to be a lengthy one.

In parallel with the paper copy of the Global Encyclopaedia of Informality, we have been working on the online version of the encyclopaedia. We are using WIKI software for uploading entries, but this is very much work in progress that will need more funding and help. Especially when it comes to the use of images to brighten up the entries and future plans to develop some measurement tools for assessing the visibility, familiarity, frequency, impact of informal practices.

Perhaps, the most exciting event of this summer was the creation of the first World Map of Informality, depicting informal practices that prevail in various parts of the world. We have ‘mapped’ all entries we have received and ‘colloquial terms’ that we have we have commissioned or would like to commission. Although still very basic at this moment, the map has been an important visual tool to explain the project to those unaware of the importance of informal practices and their role all over the globe. We are working on the possibility to give access to the under-construction site to all authors, so that you could use the map and the online version for teaching and research, but technical issues around this possibility remain unresolved. Please be patient with us, as our editorial team works really hard on a very modest budget.

I would like to thank all members of the team who worked really hard from different locations this summer: Project Manager Dr Anna Bailey and editors Costanza Curro, Maximillian Lambertson, and Elizabeth Teague. Our special thanks go to our Digital Humanities intern Sharon Lin, who has handled the setting up of the website. But without our esteemed contributors of ideas and disciplined authors of entries, we would have been nowhere. So thank you very much again and we look forward to working with you further!

We include for your attention the entries that have been finalised or very near completion:

Salam credit (Afghanistan) Magharich (Armenia) Tapsh (Azerbaijan) Stela (Bos&Herz) Jeitinho (Brazil) Vruzki (Bulgaria) Pituto (Chile) Guanxi (China) Repetitorstvo (CIS) Fimi Media (Croatia) Socialismo (Cuba) Schwarzwohnen (GDR) Zersetzung (GDR) Small-scale smuggling (general) Squatting (general) Kanonieri qurdebi (Georgia) Birzha (Georgia) Natsnoboba (Georgia) azganvan popokhutyun (Georgia/Armenians) Externe Personen (Germany)

Stroman (Hungary) No entry (India) Okurimono no shukan (Japan) Agashka (Kazakhstan) Uruuchuluk (Kyrgyzstan) Alga aploksne (Latvia) Vrski (Macedonia) Mordida (Mexico) Hawala (Middle East & India) Kumstvo (Montenegro) Egunje (Nigeria) Padrino system (Phillipines) Korapsen (PNG) Kombinacja (Poland) Zalatwianie (Poland) Blat (Romania) Chernukha (Russia) Shpargalka (Russia) Padonki language (Russia) Vzyatkoemkost’ (Russia)

Obshchak (Russia) Shebeens (South Africa) Spaza shops (South Africa) Rad na crno (Serbia) Pabirciti (Serbia) Vsimne/pozornost (Slovakia) Blat (South Caucasus) Carburant (Sub-Saharan Africa) Pulling strings (UK) Zarobitchanstvo (Ukraine) Blat (USSR) Magnitizdat (USSR) Roentgenizdat (USSR) Tanish-bilish (Uzbekistan) Esusu (Nigeria) Allegados (Chile) Wasta (Middle East) Mita (Romania) S Vrutka (Bulgaria) Compadrazgo (Mexico)

Veza (Serbia) Graffiti (general) Stoyanshiki (Russia) Trafika (Czech Republic) Ch’ir/blood revenge Uhljeb (Croatia) Jangmadang (North Korea) Chelnok (Kyrgyzstan) Insider trading (general) Dizelasi (Serbia) Gap (Uzbekistan) Dzhinsa/zakazukha (Russia) Zakaznoe bankrotstvo (Russia) Keiretsu (Japan) Reiderstvo (general) Mahallah (Uzbekistan) Tirikchilik (Uzbekistan)

Kind regards,
Alena Ledeneva
Professor of Politics and Society
University College London