Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CENTRAL ASIAN LAW (Legal Cultures and Business Environments in Central Asia)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-03-01 al 2024-02-29
Over the last two decades, economic relations between the EU and the five post-Soviet Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) have evolved around two parallel and contradictory patterns. On the one hand, due to the efforts of the EU, economic relations and interdependence have increased and the presence of EU companies in the region has expanded significantly. On the other hand, inconsistent business ethics standards - and the peculiar way in which the rule of law is interpreted and applied in the region, also called “the local way of doing business” have hindered and limited the role of foreign companies in the region. Building on recent political developments leading to the opening up of previously closed and inaccessible countries, CENTRAL ASIAN LAW is a research and training programme that aims to promote greater understanding and explanation of the interconnections between legal cultures, local business environments and governance in Central Asia. This will enable the CENTRAL ASIAN LAW team to: 1) produce new empirical knowledge on legal cultures and business ethics in the region; 2) engage with, and challenge, existing theoretical paradigms within socio-legal studies, law, economic and business sciences, Central Asian studies (post-Soviet studies, more generally) and governance scholarship; 3) provide strategic intelligence for business actors interested or already operating in the region; 4) inform international organizations and decision-makers in the EU and Central Asia on possible ways to improve the business and investment climate, the rule of law and governance in the region.
The project delivered on the expected milestones and tasks, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, management, and other challenges, that have arisen since its inception. At the outset of the Central Asian Law project, the following objectives were identified and the corresponding results below were achieved:
1) produce new empirical knowledge on legal cultures and business ethics in the region;
Through regular workshops, secondments and conferences, the project researchers were consistently reminded of the project objectives, including the aim to produce new empirical knowledge on the interconnections between legal cultures, governance and business environments in the Central Asian region. This is reflected in the number of publications by the researchers of the project, which totals around 64 (of which 8 are books/monographs, 11 articles 3 other types of publications and 42 blog posts). 2 edited volumes with Palgrave and Routledge are in progress to be published which contains at least 9 chapters in each, contributed by the researchers of the project. These publications and outputs resulted from the empirical data collected by the Central Asian Law project team.
2) engage with, and challenge, existing theoretical paradigms within socio-legal studies, law, economic and business sciences, Central Asian studies (post-Soviet studies, more generally) and governance scholarship;
The publications based on the new empirical evidence were presented at 7 international and region-focused conferences, leading to the discussion of the mainstream theories in Central Asian studies relating to the legal cultures, governance and the business environment and economy of the countries. The new conceptual and empirical insights produced by the researchers of the project are wide-ranging in topics and include, among others, the legal culture, social norms and society, regional and international trade, agriculture and economy, education, socio-legal norms and the rule of law in the region, as well as national and local level governance.
3) provide strategic intelligence for business actors interested or already operating in the region and inform international organisations and decision-makers in the EU and Central Asia on possible ways to improve the business and investment climate, the rule of law and governance in the region.
The project members were encouraged to participate in the conferences, forums and workshops. By participating in interdisciplinary and intersectoral gatherings, where representatives of academia and business and policy-makers are present, and by publishing in non-academic outlets, we disseminated our findings to a wide range of actors, including the business sector, both domestic and foreign. The project team shared the project results by targeting individual state organisations and decision makers through various ways – by sending the project publications by mail and digitally to those organisations who might benefit from the publication (e.g. the book “Compass for Investors”, described below in section 1.2.4) or by inviting the decision-makers in the EU and Central Asia to the project conferences and workshops (e.g. Embassies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in Stockholm and Berlin, General Prosecutor’s Office, etc). The project findings have been used to inform policy-makers and business actors in the EU, as well as international organisations, on how to access Central Asian markets and on possible ways to improve the rule of law, governance and business climate and ethics in Central Asia.
1) produce new empirical knowledge on legal cultures and business ethics in the region;
Through regular workshops, secondments and conferences, the project researchers were consistently reminded of the project objectives, including the aim to produce new empirical knowledge on the interconnections between legal cultures, governance and business environments in the Central Asian region. This is reflected in the number of publications by the researchers of the project, which totals around 64 (of which 8 are books/monographs, 11 articles 3 other types of publications and 42 blog posts). 2 edited volumes with Palgrave and Routledge are in progress to be published which contains at least 9 chapters in each, contributed by the researchers of the project. These publications and outputs resulted from the empirical data collected by the Central Asian Law project team.
2) engage with, and challenge, existing theoretical paradigms within socio-legal studies, law, economic and business sciences, Central Asian studies (post-Soviet studies, more generally) and governance scholarship;
The publications based on the new empirical evidence were presented at 7 international and region-focused conferences, leading to the discussion of the mainstream theories in Central Asian studies relating to the legal cultures, governance and the business environment and economy of the countries. The new conceptual and empirical insights produced by the researchers of the project are wide-ranging in topics and include, among others, the legal culture, social norms and society, regional and international trade, agriculture and economy, education, socio-legal norms and the rule of law in the region, as well as national and local level governance.
3) provide strategic intelligence for business actors interested or already operating in the region and inform international organisations and decision-makers in the EU and Central Asia on possible ways to improve the business and investment climate, the rule of law and governance in the region.
The project members were encouraged to participate in the conferences, forums and workshops. By participating in interdisciplinary and intersectoral gatherings, where representatives of academia and business and policy-makers are present, and by publishing in non-academic outlets, we disseminated our findings to a wide range of actors, including the business sector, both domestic and foreign. The project team shared the project results by targeting individual state organisations and decision makers through various ways – by sending the project publications by mail and digitally to those organisations who might benefit from the publication (e.g. the book “Compass for Investors”, described below in section 1.2.4) or by inviting the decision-makers in the EU and Central Asia to the project conferences and workshops (e.g. Embassies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in Stockholm and Berlin, General Prosecutor’s Office, etc). The project findings have been used to inform policy-makers and business actors in the EU, as well as international organisations, on how to access Central Asian markets and on possible ways to improve the rule of law, governance and business climate and ethics in Central Asia.
The above-mentioned points provide evidence that despite the late start of the implementation of the project due to the COVID-19 pandemic and thus delayed secondments, the project succeeded in achieving its stated objectives.
In terms of scientific breakthrough, the following core outputs/publications resulted from the Central Asian Law project:
Urinboyev, R. (ed.) (2024) The Political Economy of Central Asian Law: A Law and Society Analysis. Cham: Palgrave MacMillan: Palgrave International Political Economy series
Khamzaev, D. (2024) Compass for investors: Legal guidance on foreign direct investment in Central Asian Countries. Lund: Media-Tryck, Lund University, Sweden
Urinboyev, R., and Svensson, M. (forthcoming August 2024). Law, Society and Corruption: Insights from the Central Asian Context”, Routledge, Law, Justice and Power series
In terms of socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications:
The project had its aims of enhancing the potential and future career prospects of the staff members and developing new and lasting research collaborations. The experienced and young researchers alike enhanced their academic skills, along with their non-academic skills, which would help to increase their chances in the job market. The secondments provided them with an invaluable non-academic experience that will allow them to further their career in the future. It can be confidently said that the project achieved an efficient transfer of knowledge between participating organisations and contributed to improving research and innovation potential. Many researchers involved in the project have become experts in the rule of law, good governance, legal cultures, and business environment, particularly in an under-researched region like Central Asia, which gives them a unique edge in the job market. This implies that the Central Asian Law project contributed to capacity-building and knowledge production efforts in both the EU and Central Asia by producing the next generation of scholars and experts equipped with state-of-the-art knowledge and expertise on legal cultures and business environments in Central Asia. While implementing the project, we particularly focused on the following elements:
In terms of scientific breakthrough, the following core outputs/publications resulted from the Central Asian Law project:
Urinboyev, R. (ed.) (2024) The Political Economy of Central Asian Law: A Law and Society Analysis. Cham: Palgrave MacMillan: Palgrave International Political Economy series
Khamzaev, D. (2024) Compass for investors: Legal guidance on foreign direct investment in Central Asian Countries. Lund: Media-Tryck, Lund University, Sweden
Urinboyev, R., and Svensson, M. (forthcoming August 2024). Law, Society and Corruption: Insights from the Central Asian Context”, Routledge, Law, Justice and Power series
In terms of socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications:
The project had its aims of enhancing the potential and future career prospects of the staff members and developing new and lasting research collaborations. The experienced and young researchers alike enhanced their academic skills, along with their non-academic skills, which would help to increase their chances in the job market. The secondments provided them with an invaluable non-academic experience that will allow them to further their career in the future. It can be confidently said that the project achieved an efficient transfer of knowledge between participating organisations and contributed to improving research and innovation potential. Many researchers involved in the project have become experts in the rule of law, good governance, legal cultures, and business environment, particularly in an under-researched region like Central Asia, which gives them a unique edge in the job market. This implies that the Central Asian Law project contributed to capacity-building and knowledge production efforts in both the EU and Central Asia by producing the next generation of scholars and experts equipped with state-of-the-art knowledge and expertise on legal cultures and business environments in Central Asia. While implementing the project, we particularly focused on the following elements: