Migration and Hybrid Political Regimes : Navigating the Legal Landscape in Russia

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at [www.luminosoa.org](https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.96). While migration has become an all-important topic of discussion around the globe, mainstream literature on migrants' legal adaptation and integration has focused on case studies of immigrant communities in Western-style democracies. We know relatively little about how migrants adapt to a new legal environment in the ever-growing hybrid political regimes that are neither clearly democratic nor conventionally authoritarian. This book takes up the case of Russia—an archetypal hybrid political regime and the third largest recipients of migrants worldwide—and investigates how Central Asian migrant workers produce new forms of informal governance and legal order. Migrants use the opportunities provided by a weak rule-of-law and a corrupt political system to navigate the repressive legal landscape and to negotiate—using informal channels—access to employment and other opportunities that are hard to obtain through the official legal framework of their host country. This lively ethnography presents new theoretical perspectives for studying immigrant legal incorporation in similar political contexts. A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at (http://www.luminosoa.org) www.luminosoa.org . While migration has become an all-important topic of discussion around the globe, mainstream literature on migrants' legal adaptationand integrationhas focused on case studies of immigrant communities in Western-style democracies. We know relatively little about how migrants adapt to a new legal environment in the ever-growing hybrid political regimes that are neither clearly democratic nor conventionally authoritarian. This book takes up the case of Russiaan archetypal hybrid political regime and the third largest recipients of migrants worldwideand investigates howCentral Asianmigrant workersproduce new forms ofinformalgovernance and legal order. Migrants use the opportunities provided by a weak rule-of-law and a corrupt political systemto navigate the repressive legal landscape and to negotiateusing informal channelsaccess to employment and other opportunities that are hard to obtain through the official legal framework of their host country. This lively ethnography presents new theoretical perspectives for studying immigrant legal incorporation in similar political contexts.

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org.While migration has become an all-important topic of discussion around the globe, mainstream literature on migrants' legal adaptationand integrationhas focused on case studies of immigrant communities in Western-style democracies. We know relatively little about how migrants adapt to a new legal environment in the ever-growing hybrid political regimes that are neither clearly democratic nor conventionally authoritarian. This book takes up the case of Russia—an archetypal hybrid political regime and the third largest recipients of migrants worldwide—and investigates howCentral Asianmigrant workersproduce new forms ofinformalgovernance and legal order. Migrants use the opportunities provided by a weak rule-of-law and a corrupt political systemto navigate the repressive legal landscape and to negotiate—using informal channels—access to employment and other opportunities that are hard to obtain through the official legal framework of their host country. This lively ethnography presents new theoretical perspectives for studying immigrant legal incorporation in similar political contexts.

"While migration has become an all-important topic of discussion around the globe, mainstream literature on migrants' legal adaptation and integration has focused on case studies of immigrant communities in Western-style democracies. We know relatively little about how migrants adapt to a new legal environment in the ever-growing hybrid political regimes that are neither clearly democratic nor conventionally authoritarian. This book takes up the case of Russia-an archetypal hybrid political regime and the third largest recipients of migrants worldwide-and investigates how Central Asian migrant workers produce new forms of informal governance and legal order. Migrants use the opportunities provided by a weak rule-of-law and a corrupt political system to navigate the repressive legal landscape and to negotiate-using informal channels-access to employment and other opportunities that are hard to obtain through the official legal framework of their host country. This lively ethnography presents new theoretical perspectives for studying immigrant legal incorporation in similar political contexts"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Note on Transliteration and Naming 14 1. Understanding Migrants’ Legal Adaptation in Hybrid Political Regimes 16 2. Migration, the Shadow Economy, and Parallel Legal Orders in Russia 42 3. Uzbek Migrant Workers in Russia 63 4. Uzbek Migrants’ Everyday Encounters with Employers and Middlemen 77 5. Uzbek Migrants’ Everyday Encounters with Street-Level Institutions 96 6. Uzbek Migrants’ Everyday Encounters with Police Officers and Immigration Officials 112 7. The Life Histories of Three Uzbek Migrant Workers in Russia 132 8. Informality, Migrant Undocumentedness, and Legal Adaptation in Hybrid Political Regimes 151 Notes 158 References 160 Index 178 Developing an understanding of migrants' legal adaptation in hybrid political regimes -- Migration, the shadow economy, and parallel legal orders in Russia -- Uzbek migrant workers in Russia : a case study -- Uzbek migrants' everyday encounters with employers and middlemen -- Uzbek migrants' everyday encounters with street-level institutions -- Uzbek migrants' everyday encounters with police officers and immigration officials -- The life histories of three Uzbek migrant workers in Russia -- Discussion and concluding remarks