Sociology is becoming a civic movement
The annual conference of the American Sociological Association was in New York this year. Among the 6,000 specialists discussing the current state of social sciences and society were 18 academics from the HSE.
Attempts to Control Retail Are Futile
For a long time, retail in Russia developed without interference from government regulators, but the situation has changed dramatically in recent years. The state is now actively trying to control this sphere, but the effectiveness of such attempts is questionable, asserts Vadim Radaev in his recent paper.
Government and Business in search of a new balance
The Kremlin wants to change its relations with the business elites. While one part of the ‘government vertical’ hopes to maintain the status-quo of the mid-2000s, another one trying to broaden the social base of government to include medium-sized businesses. But if the bureaucrats want to win support and improve the investment climate in Russia, representatives of other elites need to be drawn into the discussion.
Migrants, Segregation and Civil Peace
Only 20% of residents in Qatar are native citizens of the country. The rest are migrant workers. Cheap workers come from the East, more expensive ones from the West. Trevor Johnston has studied the way this authoritarian regime uses deliberate segregation in order to maintain civil peace during this mass influx of migrant workers engaged in the economy of the country.
Our Brain Is Highjacked by the Herd Mentality
The fact – well known to political consultants – that people tend to go along with the crowd can be explained by a brain mechanism which has helped our survival as a species. Every time we differ from others, our brain responds by triggering an 'error signal', causing us to change our opinion in favour of the majority, reveals a study by Vasily Klucharev.
Russian Elites Are Unlikely to Embrace Democracy
The future generation of Russia's political managers is unlikely to embrace a democratic society, regardless of the protests emerging in the country today, the study 'Russian Elites-2020' shows.
Immigrant Capitals of Europe, from London to Moscow
London is the most ‘immigrant’ among European capitals: 40% of its population comes from other countries. Paris has 20%, 17,4% in Madrid, and 15% in Moscow. Ethnicity plays a higher role the lower the immigrants’ social level is, says Daria Bityukova in her study published in the HSE online journal Demoscope Weekly.
Prosecutors, Judges, and Repressive Sentencing
Informal alliances between prosecutors and judges contribute to the repressive sentencing that is characteristic of Russia's criminal justice. The underlying factor is that the prosecutor's career depends on his or her conviction rate, while the judge usually seeks to avoid appeals, according to Alexander Libman, André Schulz, and Vladimir Kozlov.
One-Third of Russians Prefer Informal Employment
The informal labour market is growing in Russia. An increasing number of people are moving to the informal economy because they do not trust government institutions and do not receive the public benefits they are entitled to as taxpayers. 'Shadowed from Regulation: Informality in the Russian Labor Markets, Its Dynamics, Extent, and Consequences' is a paper by Vladimir Gimpelson.
Corruption Weighed by Post-Material Values
If the majority of a country’s population moved from values of survival to values of self-expression, individuals with both types of values will try to avoid corrupt behaviour. But if, as in Russia, values of survival prevail in society, individuals with values of self-expression are inclined to act corruptly. This is the conclusion of a study by Maria Kravtsova and Alexey Oshchepkov.