Alena Ledeneva
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Alena Valeryevna Ledeneva (Russian: Алёна Валерьевна Леденёва; born May 1964) is a Russian academic known for her studies of
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
and informal practices in Russia, particularly '' blat''. She is currently Professor of Politics and Society at the
School of Slavonic and East European Studies The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a University College London#Faculties and departments, school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and South-Easte ...
(SSEES),
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
(UCL).


Career

Ledeneva studied
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
at the
Novosibirsk State University Novosibirsk State University (NSU) is a public research university located in Novosibirsk, Russia. The university was founded in 1958, on the principles of integration of education and science, early involvement of students with research act ...
(1986) and
social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...
and
political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...
at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
(Newnham College, M.Phil.1992; Ph.D.1996). She was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at New Hall College, Cambridge (1996–1999); Senior Fellow at the Davis Center,
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
(2005); Simon Professor at the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
(2006), Visiting professor at
Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
, Paris (2010) and visiting professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Paris (2013–2014). She is a member of
Valdai Discussion Club The Valdai Discussion Club is a Moscow-based think tank and discussion forum. It was established in 2004 and is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place. In 2014, the managem ...
. Ledeneva has led the UCL pillar in the large-scale research project funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Program – Anticorruption Policies Revisited: Global Trends and European Responses to the Challenge of Corruption (ANTICORRP) (2012–2017).


Research

Ledeneva's research of informal practices started with ''blat'' – the use of personal networks for getting things done in Russia (Ledeneva 1998). It has helped solve a double puzzle in the history of authoritarian regimes: how people survived in an economy of shortage, and how the regime survived under similar constraint. It also opened an avenue to explore the nature of political and economic regimes from a new perspective – the perspective of informal practices. Informal practices have become an important indicator in assessing models of governance. In ''How Russia Really Works'' (2006) she has identified the informal practices that have replaced blat in the functioning of the political and economic institutions of the 1990s. This book has been translated into Chinese and Korean. Arguing that such practices constitute important indicators in assessing models of government, the third volume in the trilogy, ''Can Russia Modernise: Putin's System, Power Networks and Informal Governance'' (2013), focuses on the role of clientele networks in informal governance, an emerging supra-national concern, and on the demands that network-based governance systems make on political leaderships. These monographs (Cambridge 1998; Cornell 2006; Cambridge 2013) constitute a trilogy on Russia that explores workings of informal networks in the Soviet times (grassroots networks), post-Soviet transition of the 1990s (professional networks) and in contemporary Russia (power networks). The interdisciplinary study of informality has been relevant for studying social capital, consumption, labour markets, entrepreneurship, trust, mobility and migration, shortages, barter, survival strategies, alternative currencies, the shadow economy, redistribution and remittance economies, and democracy (demonstrable in citation index). All these developments illustrate efforts to re-integrate social dimensions into studies of politics and economy and have policy implications. Ledeneva's research into "sistema" –
systemic corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activitie ...
in Russian politics – has received coverage in relation to Russian interference with other nations' politics, especially with the
2016 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and ...
. In 2018, she published the ''Global Encyclopaedia of Informality'' (UCL Press, 2018), an ambitious two volume work containing the work of over 200 contributors on the subject of informality. Both volumes are available to download for free.


Art

The first solo exhibition –
The System Made Me Do It
– took place in 2024.


Selected publications

* ''Russia's Economy of Favours'' (Cambridge University Press, 1998) * ''How Russia Really Works'' (Cornell University Press, 2006) * ''Can Russia Modernise? Sistema, Power Networks and Informal Governance'' (Cambridge University Press, 2013) * ''The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality, Volume 1 (Open access)'' (UCL Press, 2018) * ''The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality, Volume 2 (Open access)'' (UCL Press, 2018) * ''The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality, Volume 3
Open access
'' (UCL Press, 2024)


References


External links


Ledeneva's website at UCLIEA Paris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledeneva, Alena Academics of University College London British sociologists Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge 1964 births Living people British people of Russian descent British women sociologists