Migration and Legal Cultures in Post-Soviet Societies: Ethnographic Study of Uzbek Migrant Workers and Their Families

This is a research proposal for a 36-month socio-legal study on migration and legal culture. The purpose of this project is to enhance the knowledge about the relationship between migration and legal culture in post-Soviet societies, and thereby to contribute to better understanding of the role and rule of law and governance issues in this region. More specifically, it aims to explore: (1) the interplay and clash of legal cultures and the role of migration in shaping these processes; (2) the role of ICT and social media in moulding the nature of migration, and thereby possibly effecting legal cultures; (3) how empirical findings from post-Soviet societies contribute to theoretical discussions concerning the concept of legal culture, as well as to existing theories of migration. These three questions will be investigated through the ethnographic case study of the experiences of Uzbek migrant workers who migrate to Russia and their family members who stay behind in Uzbekistan. This project will be based on two periods of ethnographic field research in Russia and Uzbekistan. It employs ethnographic and socio-legal methods and draws on the concept of "living law" as a theoretical starting point.