Collective action

Participants from ICSID: Yakovlev A.A., Kazun A.P.

Further information on the project: Kazun A.P.

Description:

Currently, researchers of ICSID are focusing on two forms of collective actions in Russia: 1) business associations 2) professional associations of attorneys. Much empirical and theoretical research has showed that business associations and professional associations are essential for the improvement of business climate, civil society, and human and property rights protection.

1)     How do firms use collective action institutions in the developing world? Many recent studies show that business associations can be used in developing countries not only for lobbying, but also to protect against unscrupulous state agents. Using a database of more than 1000 cases of violent corporate raiding in Russia from 2011-2016 assembled by the Center of Public Procedures “Business against Corruption,” we analyze the factors affecting the security of doing business in Russia. Researchers at ICSID also collected a unique dataset of publications in print media describing more than 600 cases of raiding attacks in 2011-2015. We also use additional data from firm surveys such as the World Bank Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) and RUFIGE. In our ongoing project on business climate in Russian regions we argue based on these datasets that the greater the number of raider attacks in a given region, the greater is uncertainty and the less likely entrepreneurs are to make investments. Other topics include the connection between violent corporate raiding and election results, preconditions for hostile takeovers, and protective factors.

2)     More than 25 years after the beginning of economic transition, the problem of the independence of courts, development of a legal community and estimation of the quality of the law enforcement system remains important for Russia. In 2014, researchers at ICSID finished a pilot project examining the demand among attorneys for professional associations and collective action. This research was based on a survey of 372 attorneys in 9 regions of Russia. Currently, researchers at ICSID are finishing a representative survey of 3,317 attorneys in 35 regions of Russia and have created a unique dataset on various aspects of attorney communities in Russia. This survey was conducted on the basis of a formalized questionnaire distributed through regional branches of the Federal Chamber of Attorneys of Russia. Current topics of research include motivation for collective action in the legal profession, access and demand for attorneys in Russian regions, lawyers’ estimations of the quality of law enforcement system, professional ethics, legal education, discussion about the professional monopoly of attorneys in courts, institutional factors of representation for indigent defendants, etc. In addition, we consider the role of attorney organizations in producing social change in countries with weak institutions.

Ongoing projects:

• Violent Corporate Raiding and the Security of Business in Russia (A. Yakovlev, A. Kazun).
• The quality of law enforcements system in Russian Regions: an assessment of attorneys (A. Yakovlev, A. Kazun).
• The Role of Lawyers in Social Changes in Developing Countries: Evidence from Russia (A. Yakovlev, A. Kazun).
• Institutional determinants for representation of indigent defendants: A case study of on Russian advocacy (A. Kazun). 

Selected Publications:

Kazun A., Yakovlev A. A. Who demands collective action in an imperfect institutional environment? A case study of the profession of advocates in Russia // Journal of Eurasian Studies. 2017. Vol. 8. No. 1. P. 60-71.

Kazun A. Juridical Field or Legal Profession? Comparison of Bourdieusian Theory and Theory of Professionalism for Studies of Legal Community // Comparative Sociology. 2016. Vol. 15. No. 5. P. 572-592.

Rochlitz M., Kazun A., Yakovlev A. A. Unter Räubern - Russland: Investitionsrisiko Unternehmensplünderungen // Osteuropa. 2016. Vol. 66. No. 5. P. 95-110. (in German)

Kazun A. Violent Corporate Raiding in Russia: Preconditions and Protective Factors // Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization. 2015. Vol. 23. No. 4. P. 459-484.          

Yakovlev A. A., Sobolev A. S., Kazun A. Means of production versus means of coercion: can Russian business limit the violence of a predatory state? // Post-Soviet Affairs. 2014. No. 30 (2-3). P. 171-194.

Levina I. A., Kisunko G., Marques II I., Yakovlev A. A. Uncertainty as a Factor in Investment Decisions: The Case of the Russian Federation's Regions / World Bank. Series WPS "Policy Research Working Paper". 2016. No. 7806.

Yakovlev A. A., Kazun A., Sitkevich D.A. The Role of Lawyers in Social Changes in Developing Countries: Evidence from Russia / NRU Higher School of Economics. Series LAW "Law". 2016. No. 70.

Other publications:

Kazun A. Yakovlev A. Community of Attorneys and the Quality of Law Enforcement in Russia// Economic Policy. 2015. Vol. 10. № 5. pp.7-37. (in Russian)

Kazun A. Social Responsibility among Russian Attorneys: Factors Behind the Provision of Free Legal Assistance both by Court Appointment and Pro bono//The Journal of Social Policy Studies. 2015. Vol.13. № 4. pp. 563-579. (in Russian)

Kazun A. Raiding in Russian Regions: indicators and factors// Universe of Russia. 2015. Vol. 24. № 3. pp. 33-60. (in Russian).

Kazun A. Strengthening the Independence of the Attorneys’ Community in Russia: The Demand of the Population and Business, Human Capital, and Professional Associations//Questions of Economics. 2015. № 9. pp. 89-108. (in Russian)

Kazun A. Re-Examining the Role of Business Associations in Russia and Post-Communist Countries: From Interest Groups to Defensive Organizations// Economic Sociology. 2015. Vol. 16. № 3. pp. 163-172. (in Russian)

Yakovlev A. A., Kazun A., Sobolev A. S. The other side of the business climate in Russia [Die andere Seite des Wirtschaftsklimas in Russland] // Russland-analysen. 2014. No. 270. P. 2-6. (in German)

Yakovlev A. A., Kazun A. [The conditions and problems of the legal community in Russia according to opinion of lawyers] Zustand und Probleme der Juristen in Russland aus Sicht der Anwälte // Russland-analysen. 2014. No. 280. P. 5-15. (in German)

Kazun A. The Logic the Russian Judicial System // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. T. 2014. XVII. Number 4 (75). S. 203-214. (in Russian)

Kazun A., Yakovlev A. Russian lawyers: the emergence of the professional community in an imperfect institutional environment // Social studies and the present. 2014. № 6. S. 39-56. (in Russian)

Kazun A. The Problem of Choice between Personal Benefit and Professional Responsibility in Lawyers Work: Development of Individual Level of Control. Economic sociology. 2013. T. 14. № 5. C. 104-143. (in Russian)

Conference and Workshop Presentations:

2016. Third ISA Forum of Sociology "The Futures We Want: Global Sociology and the Struggles for a Better World". Austria. Social Responsibility of Russian Lawyers: Factors of Engagement into “Pro Bono” Work

2016. 5 ICSID conference Regional Heterogeneity and Incentives for Government. Moscow. Professional organizations as drivers of social changes in developing countries: Some implications from Russian ‘limited access order’

2016. XVII April international academic conference on economic and social development. Higher School of Economics. The Role of Lawyers in Social Changes in Developing Countries

2015. ICCEES IX World Congress. Makuhari, Japan. Report: A case study of the professional community of attorneys in Russia

2015. 4 ICSID conference Regional Heterogeneity and Incentives for Government. Moscow. The Quality of Law Enforcement System in Russian Regions: an Assessment of Advocates

2015. 15th Annual Aleksanteri Conference - Culture and Russian Society. Finland. The Quality of Law Enforcement System in Russian Regions: an Assessment of Advocates

2015. XVI April international academic conference on economic and social development. Higher School of Economics. The tactics of Russian attorneys in law enforcement system.

2014. 10th Annual Conference of the Italian Law and Economics Society (SIDE-ISLE). 18.12.2014 - Rome (Italy). Who demands collective action in imperfect institutional environment?

2014. Annual Aleksanteri Conference “Restructuring State and Society in Russia”. 22.10.2014 - Helsinki (Finland). «Problems of Law Enforcement and Judicial System in Russia: an Assessment of Attorneys»

2014. A Workshop on the Political Economy of Russia, Columbia University, New York (USA). Who demands collective action in imperfect institutional environment: Case-study of attorneys’ professional community in Russia.

2014. The III International Scientific Conference "Business Ethics and Models of National Behavior".  St. Petersburg (Russia). Means of production versus means of coercion: can Russian business limit the violence of a predatory state?

2014. 3rd ICSID conference Regional Heterogeneity and Incentives for Government. 29.05.2014 - St. Petersburg (Russia). Case-study of attorneys’ professional community in Russia.