Informal Structures and Governance Processes in Transition Economies: The Case of Uzbekistan

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some 25 countries experienced a revolutionary transition from a planned economy to a market-based economy. This affected the very foundations of their political, social, and economic lives. This article concentrates on the dynamics of public governance and argues that informal structures, socio-cultural mechanisms, and cultural artifacts allowed governance to function in Uzbekistan and filled the emerging vacuum in the areas where formal mechanisms were weakened or non-existent. Using qualitative research techniques and network governance concepts a framework with mechanisms of control, conditions, institutional forms, and resulting exchange was developed.