Trust a Thief or the Law? Efficiency, Norms, and Private Versus Public Justice in Georgia

• In Event: IASOC Presents: Evolving forms of Policing and Social Control in the Post-Soviet Region

Abstract

The paper presents observational and experimental data from a survey experiment conducted in Georgia in the fall 2015. It provides insights into a) motivations of people to seek out private—extrajudicial, non-legal means—versus public justice; b) the degree of 1) willingness to go through official legal channels versus unofficial channels, 2) preference for corrupt politician who gets things done, 3) preference for hiring someone with a criminal past, 4) respect for criminal bosses known as thieves-in-law.

Author

• Alexander Kupatadze, St. Andrews University, UK