Convener(s): Dr Nicolette Makovicky (University of Oxford), Dr Jörg Wiegratz (University of Leeds), and Dr Dimitra Kofti (Panteion University)
Challenging the orthodox exclusion of morality from the investigation of economic life, scholars of Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia region have long documented how the post-socialist experience has reshaped the morality of commerce, working lives, informal economic practices, and even notions of moral personhood. Today, 30 years after the end of communist rule, the region continues to be a privileged site for studying the moral dimensions of economic thinking, practices, and relationships at different scales. As the collective experience of Communism fades, there has been increasing public debate about the social and cultural changes which have come with political and economic liberalization, including labour migration, the rise of identity politics, and the formation of new elites. In some parts of the region, such discussions have articulated contemporary concerns about moral change, crisis and decline, triggering political, social, and religious calls for moral renewal. At the same time, an increasingly vocal set of social movements are contesting existing structures of power, wealth, and inequality, challenging the operations and outcomes of the current political economy, and demanding, amongst other things, stronger redistributive measures and a clean-up of widespread corruption and crony capitalism.
In the face of such diversity, this workshop will take stock of the capitalist moral order(s) in the region, and to map the drivers and characteristics of relevant moral changes in this part of the world. If you would like to participate, please contact nicolette.makovicky@area.ox.ac.uk.
The programme can be seen here.
