Events

Call for papers (deadline 5 January 2025)

Workshop

Informality as a methodological approach: crises, conflicts, governance and the everyday

Naples, 14-15 February 2024

Deadline: 5 January 2025, we plan to send acceptance messages by the 10th of January so that you have enough time to prepare the trip (submission details below).

Organisers

Benjamin Cisagara and Ilona Baumane (University of Latvia)

Abel Polese (Dublin City University)

Ruth Hanau-Santini (University of Naples, l’Orientale)

Rationale

Informality studies are thriving. From political informality to economic approaches to international relations (Polese 2023), and from the study of the everyday to crisis situations (Helou and Polese 2024), the number of works engaging with an “informality framework” is growing exponentially.

With this workshop, we aim to address two main issues. Theoretically, we seek to organize the study of informality, develop a taxonomy of informality, and explore categories specifically linked to everyday governance of crises, risk management, and political activism. Building on the idea that informality can be regarded as a form of resistance (Murru and Polese 2020), we intend to examine forms of political activism, ranging from contentious politics and unorganized resistance to informality as a form of insurgence (Hanau-Santini and Polese 2017; Polese and Hanau-Santini 2017). While pursuing these goals, we also aim to strengthen our theoretical understanding of informality with solid case studies and robust data collected in a variety of contexts (we are open to any cases and data that can advance the understanding of informality) and their interpretation.

Through this approach, we advocate for at least two major roles of informality: (1) as a key concept for understanding the theory and practice of governance, and (2) as a methodological approach. To achieve this, we encourage contributions that link informality approaches to the following dynamics:

1. Informality in times of peace and/or stability

2. Informality in times of conflict

3. Informality and early crisis interventions

1) Informality in Interventions and Policymaking

Interventions and policymaking are not what they are conceived to be, but what they become after passing through practical challenges. Accordingly, it is virtually impossible to carry out an intervention and successfully bring about behavioral change if informal mechanisms, power relations, and dynamics are not taken into account. We welcome papers that engage with the theory and practice of intervention, considering not only the official but also the unofficial—such as informal institutions, informal leaders, and informal practices—in a development context.

Another key aspect is informality as a methodology for “the study of the invisible” (Pawlusz and Polese 2017). The study of official discourses, policies, and macro-level trends of a country often fails to capture the “infrapolitics” dimension (Scott 2012). This concept suggests that an action, seemingly insignificant on its own, when repeated millions of times by actors who may be unaware of each other, can ultimately cancel a political measure, counter a top-level government decision, or render it ineffective. We wish to encourage studies of these invisible, uncoordinated, and seemingly insignificant actions (and signals) that play a significant role in the political, economic, and social life of a state and its society.

2) Informality and Governance in Conflict-Affected Areas

We also welcome contributions that examine informality as a tool for analyzing governance in conflict-affected areas. While existing literature often emphasizes formal institutions in rebel governance, informal mechanisms—such as patronage networks, customary law, and local arrangements (Themnér and Utas 2016; Mampilly and Stewart 2021; Loyle et al. 2022)—are crucial.

Additionally, we are interested in the increasing role of non-Western, non-state actors in fragile settings, particularly in Africa. Beyond local insurgent groups, this includes private military companies and fighter groups with direct or indirect connections to non-Western countries, such as Turkey, Russia, and Iran. We encourage research on how these actors' informal status and mandates intersect with local governance dynamics (Lewis 2022; Jütersonke et al. 2021).

3) Informality and Early Warning Systems (EWS)

Finally, we invite analyses focusing on how informality intersects with Early Warning Systems (EWS) in conflict or humanitarian crises. Incorporating community-based actors, social networks, and unofficial communication channels can strengthen—or challenge—the effectiveness of EWS (GFDRR 2024). These explorations may reveal how informal dimensions of governance and crisis management enhance, alter, or undermine official interventions. They can also raise critical questions about power imbalances, trust, and inclusivity.

Starting from the above considerations, we invite papers engaging with at least one of the aspects mentioned. We are particularly interested in empirically-based analyses from any region of the world that can advance the methodological and theoretical dimensions of informality studies. Below are some possible topics and approaches. However, this list is by no means exhaustive, and we encourage submissions beyond these suggestions:

• Crisis Situations: How everyday practices help individuals navigate and overcome hardship in contexts where macro-level and governmental interventions have limited effectiveness.

• Risk Analysis and Management: Discrepancies between official and unofficial data, risks, and actors.

• Everyday Governance: How informality operates in times of peace and (apparent) stability.

• War Economies: The role of informal networks and practices in sustaining economies during armed conflict.

• Illegal and Illicit Economies: The relationship between informal, illegal activities and the official, legal structures of the state.

• Rebel Governance and Non-State Actors: How informality factors into governance by rebel groups and other non-state actors in conflict or post-conflict contexts.

• Early Warning Systems (EWS): The role of informality in shaping the effectiveness of EWS in fragile or conflict-affected settings.

Publication plan

The papers presented will be invited to submit to a special issue (and/or edited volume) that we plan to submit for publication after the workshop. Plans will be discussed with participants during the event

How to apply and conditions of participation

If interested send a 300 word abstract and a short biographical statement to

abel.polese@dcu.ie rhanausantini@unior.it and benjamin_bisimwa.cisagara@lu.lv

by the 5th of January. We are aware that time is short so that we will work to give you an answer by the 10th of January so that you can prepare.

There is no participation fee. All meals, including coffee breaks, lunches, and dinners, will be covered by the organizers. We may be able to reimburse short-distance travel costs (100–150 euros) for a limited number of participants who do not have institutional funding. If you need this type of support, please mention it in your abstract or message. While we cannot guarantee funding for everyone, we will do our best to accommodate requests.

Cited works

1. Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) (2023). Designing Inclusive, Accessible Early Warning Systems: Good Practices and Entry Points. [Online] Available at: https://www.gfdrr.org/en/publication/designing-inclusive-accessible-early-warning-systems-good-practices-and-entry-points [Accessed 7 December 2023].

2. Hanau-Santini, R., Polese, A. and R. Kevlihan (eds.) (2020) Limited Statehood and Informal Governance in the Middle East and North Africa. London: Routledge

3. Helou, J. and A. Polese (2024). “The informal economy of crisis situations”. Third World Quarterly.

4. Jütersonke, O., Kobayashi, K., Krause, K. and X. Yuan (2021). “Norm Contestation and Normative Transformation in Global Peacebuilding Order(s): The Cases of China, Japan, and Russia”. International Studies Quarterly, 65 (4): 944–959.

5. Lewis, D. (2022). Contesting liberal peace: Russia’s emerging model of conflict management. International Affairs 98: 2 (2022) 653–673.

6. Cyanne E Loyle, Jessica Maves Braithwaite, Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, Reyko Huang, R Joseph Huddleston, Danielle F Jung, Michael A Rubin, Revolt and Rule: Learning about Governance from Rebel Groups, International Studies Review, Volume 24, Issue 4, December 2022

7. Mampilly, Z., & Stewart, M. A. (2021). A Typology of Rebel Political Institutional Arrangements. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 65(1), 15-45.

8. Murru, S. and Polese, A. (eds.) (2020) Resistances: Between Theory and the Field. New York: Rowman and Littlefield

9. Polese, A., R. Santini (2018) “Deconstructing unitary statehood: hybrid security in Africa and the Middle East”, Small Wars and Insurgencies 29(3)

10. Polese, A. (2023) “What is informality? (Mapping) “the art of bypassing the state” in Eurasian spaces – and beyond”, Eurasian Geography and Economics 64(3): 322-364

11. Themnér, A., & Utas, M. (2016). Governance through brokerage: informal governance in post-civil war societies. Civil Wars, 18(3), 255–280.