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{{infobox | {{infobox | ||
| nameofpractice =Small-scale smuggling | |||
| flagemoji = 🌍 | |||
| definition =Bending or subverting the rules on the transportation goods across national borders | |||
| location =Global | |||
| imagemap =Global map.png | |||
}} | | clusters = | ||
[[:Category:Market|Market]] – [[:Category: Functional ambivalence| Functional ambivalence]] – [[:Category: System made me do it| System made me do it]] – [[:Category: Survival| Survival]] – [[:Category: Informal entrepreneurship| Informal entrepreneurship]] | |||
| categories = | |||
[[:Category:Global|Global]] – [[:Category: Borders| Borders]] – [[:Category: Rule-bending| Rule-bending]] – [[:Category: Smuggling| Smuggling]] – [[:Category: Trade| Trade]] – [[:Category: Shuttle trade| Shuttle trade]] – [[:Category: Reseller| Reseller]] – [[:Category: Triangle| Triangle]] – [[:Category: Borders| Borders]] | |||
| authorofpiece =Bettina Bruns | |||
| authorinstitution =Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany | |||
| authorwebsite =[https://www.ifl-leipzig.de/de/das-ifl/mitarbeiter/bruns-bettina.html Profile page at IFL]}} | |||
<big>'''By Bettina Bruns, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Germany'''</big> | |||
[[Category:Market]] | |||
[[Category: Functional ambivalence]] | |||
[[Category: System made me do it]] | |||
[[Category: Survival]] | |||
[[Category: Informal entrepreneurship]] | |||
[[Category:Global]] | |||
[[Category: Borders]] | |||
[[Category: Rule-bending]] | |||
[[Category: Smuggling]] | |||
[[Category: Trade]] | |||
[[Category: Shuttle trade]] | |||
[[Category: Reseller]] | |||
[[Category: Triangle]] | |||
[[Category: Borders]] | |||
[[Category:Entry]] | |||
[[Category: Volume 2]] | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
|style="font-size:1.1em;"| Small-scale smuggling is a fairly universal practice associated with bending the rules on the passage of goods through the borders between countries. In the majority of cases it is an illegal economic practice aimed at income generation, made possible by permeable, or porous, borders; price differential between countries; or unequal supply of goods. Ordinarily, small-scale smugglers exploit the loopholes in regulations; ineffective enforcement of these regulations; or risk carrying more goods than allowed across a border without declaring them. They either sell these goods at a small profit or keep them for their own use. In short: they use the border as a resource. The practice is a case of the enabling power of constraints. | |||
|} | |||
[[File:Small-scale smuggling Cigarettes.jpeg|300px|thumb|left|‘Cigarette smuggling with a book. This exhibit was on display in the main customs office in Munich. Author: High Contrast ’]] | [[File:Small-scale smuggling Cigarettes.jpeg|300px|thumb|left|‘Cigarette smuggling with a book. This exhibit was on display in the main customs office in Munich. Author: High Contrast ’]] | ||
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[[File:Small Scale Smuggling Hudiakov Smugglers.jpg|275px|thumb|right|A skirmish with smugglers from Finland at the Russian border, 1853]] | [[File:Small Scale Smuggling Hudiakov Smugglers.jpg|275px|thumb|right|A skirmish with smugglers from Finland at the Russian border, 1853]] | ||
Small-scale smuggling is rather a technical term used in print and science<ref>Archer, R.; Rácz, K. (2012): Šverc and the šinobus: Small-scale smuggling in Vojvodina. In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS:59-83.</ref><ref>Wagner, M.; Łukowski, W. (eds.) (2010): Alltag im Grenzland. Schmuggel als ökonomische Strategie im Osten Europas. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.</ref><ref>Wallace, C.; Shmulyar, O.; Bedzir, V. (1999): “Investing in Social Capital: The Case of Small-Scale, Cross-Border Traders in Post-Communist Central Europe”. In: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 23, 4: 751-770.</ref>, but usually not by the smugglers themselves. People carrying out this informal practice are rather reluctant to define their activities so clearly, as this might be potentially harmful for their business<ref>Stammler-Gossmann, A. (2012): „‘Winter-tyres-for-a-flower-bed‘: Shuttel trade on the Finnish-Russian border.“ In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS: 233-255.</ref>. They prefer to use a multiplicity of euphemisms for their trading activity, depending on where, what and how they perform it. One example is the use of the word ''mrówki'' (English: ants) in Poland which focuses on the smugglers’ arduous frequency (up to several times a day) of crossing the border to import a small amount of goods each time. ''Mrówki'' might even transport goods in a legal way across the border, provided that the quantity of their merchandise does not exceed the allowed norm. Russian traders who regularly cross the border to Finland to make a profit on selling goods and providing tourist services such as transportation, advice on visas and other information, refer to themselves as ''perevozchiki'' (English: carriers)<ref>Stammler-Gossmann, A. (2012): „‘Winter-tyres-for-a-flower-bed‘: Shuttel trade on the Finnish-Russian border.“ In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS: 233-255.</ref>, avoiding completely any potential illegality and/or informality in the description of their activities. | Small-scale smuggling is rather a technical term used in print and science<ref>Archer, R.; Rácz, K. (2012): [[Šverc]] and the šinobus: Small-scale smuggling in Vojvodina. In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS:59-83.</ref><ref>Wagner, M.; Łukowski, W. (eds.) (2010): Alltag im Grenzland. Schmuggel als ökonomische Strategie im Osten Europas. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.</ref><ref>Wallace, C.; Shmulyar, O.; Bedzir, V. (1999): “Investing in Social Capital: The Case of Small-Scale, Cross-Border Traders in Post-Communist Central Europe”. In: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 23, 4: 751-770.</ref>, but usually not by the smugglers themselves. People carrying out this informal practice are rather reluctant to define their activities so clearly, as this might be potentially harmful for their business<ref>Stammler-Gossmann, A. (2012): „‘Winter-tyres-for-a-flower-bed‘: Shuttel trade on the Finnish-Russian border.“ In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS: 233-255.</ref>. They prefer to use a multiplicity of euphemisms for their trading activity, depending on where, what and how they perform it. One example is the use of the word ''mrówki'' (English: ants) in Poland which focuses on the smugglers’ arduous frequency (up to several times a day) of crossing the border to import a small amount of goods each time. ''Mrówki'' might even transport goods in a legal way across the border, provided that the quantity of their merchandise does not exceed the allowed norm. Russian traders who regularly cross the border to Finland to make a profit on selling goods and providing tourist services such as transportation, advice on visas and other information, refer to themselves as ''perevozchiki'' (English: carriers)<ref>Stammler-Gossmann, A. (2012): „‘Winter-tyres-for-a-flower-bed‘: Shuttel trade on the Finnish-Russian border.“ In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS: 233-255.</ref>, avoiding completely any potential illegality and/or informality in the description of their activities. | ||
Formally, small-scale smuggling differs from small-scale trade in respect of legality: ‘Traditionally, ‘trade’ is the legal and ‘smuggling’ is the illegal means of moving items from one side of the border to the other’<ref>Thuen, T. (1999): „The significance of borders in the East European transition.“ In: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 23, 4: 738-750.</ref>. However, in practice legality and illegality in small-scale smuggling cannot be separated quite so neatly. On the one hand, parts of the activity may be perfectly legal: purchasing the goods, paying for the transportation across the border and for the visa to enter another country. On the other hand, illegal elements of the smuggling activity involve bending the rules such as non-declaration of all the goods, bribing customs officials, or subsequently selling the goods at a local market without a licence. Circumventing official rules while observing formal procedures is expressed in a motto circulating among smugglers: ‘Do not violate the law, but know the ways to avoid it’<ref>Stammler-Gossmann, A. (2012): „‘Winter-tyres-for-a-flower-bed‘: Shuttel trade on the Finnish-Russian border.“ In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS: 233-255.</ref>. It is also an indication of the ambivalent nature of the practice: neither wholly legal nor illegal. | Formally, small-scale smuggling differs from small-scale trade in respect of legality: ‘Traditionally, ‘trade’ is the legal and ‘smuggling’ is the illegal means of moving items from one side of the border to the other’<ref>Thuen, T. (1999): „The significance of borders in the East European transition.“ In: International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 23, 4: 738-750.</ref>. However, in practice legality and illegality in small-scale smuggling cannot be separated quite so neatly. On the one hand, parts of the activity may be perfectly legal: purchasing the goods, paying for the transportation across the border and for the visa to enter another country. On the other hand, illegal elements of the smuggling activity involve bending the rules such as non-declaration of all the goods, bribing customs officials, or subsequently selling the goods at a local market without a licence. Circumventing official rules while observing formal procedures is expressed in a motto circulating among smugglers: ‘Do not violate the law, but know the ways to avoid it’<ref>Stammler-Gossmann, A. (2012): „‘Winter-tyres-for-a-flower-bed‘: Shuttel trade on the Finnish-Russian border.“ In: Bruns, B.; Miggelbrink, J. (eds.): Subverting Borders. Doing Research on Smuggling and Small-scale Trade. Wiesbaden: VS: 233-255.</ref>. It is also an indication of the ambivalent nature of the practice: neither wholly legal nor illegal. | ||
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Small-scale smuggling is widespread in all Central European post-socialist countries, but also prevalent in other parts of the world, such as at the Afghan-Iranian, Mexican-Belize and Rwandan-Congolese borders. Smuggling of gold bullion from Peru to Bolivia is a widespread practice, with smugglers using special clothing such as ‘long, purpose-built vertical pockets in a bulbous down-filled coat’ designed exclusively for smuggling gold bullion<ref>Finnegan, W. (2015): „Tears of the sun. The gold rush at the top of the world.“ In: The New Yorker, April 20, 2015. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/20/tears-of-the-sun, accessed 7 July, 2015.</ref>. Examples in Europe range from cigarette smuggling across the Polish-Ukrainian border to smuggling household commodities from Russia to Finland and trafficking of walnuts from Azerbaijan into Georgia. | Small-scale smuggling is widespread in all Central European post-socialist countries, but also prevalent in other parts of the world, such as at the Afghan-Iranian, Mexican-Belize and Rwandan-Congolese borders. Smuggling of gold bullion from Peru to Bolivia is a widespread practice, with smugglers using special clothing such as ‘long, purpose-built vertical pockets in a bulbous down-filled coat’ designed exclusively for smuggling gold bullion<ref>Finnegan, W. (2015): „Tears of the sun. The gold rush at the top of the world.“ In: The New Yorker, April 20, 2015. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/20/tears-of-the-sun, accessed 7 July, 2015.</ref>. Examples in Europe range from cigarette smuggling across the Polish-Ukrainian border to smuggling household commodities from Russia to Finland and trafficking of walnuts from Azerbaijan into Georgia. | ||
Due to its ambivalent nature and functional relevance for survival, small-scale smuggling is a sensitive research topic<ref>Lee, R.M.(1993):Doing research on sensitive topics. London: Sage.</ref>. In order to collect data, a relationship of trust between researcher and smuggler should be established. This needs time, long-term ethnographic fieldwork and a mixture of methods such as participant observation and in-depth interviews. | Due to its ambivalent nature and functional relevance for survival, small-scale smuggling is a sensitive research topic<ref>Lee, R.M.(1993):Doing research on sensitive topics. London: Sage.</ref>. In order to collect data, a relationship of trust between researcher and smuggler should be established. This needs time, long-term ethnographic fieldwork and a mixture of methods such as participant observation and in-depth [[interviews]]. | ||
== | ==References== | ||
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