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‘Stealing from the State Is Not Stealing Really, It Is a National Sport’: A Study of Informal Economic Practices and Low-Level Corruption in Hungary

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Governance Beyond the Law

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

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Abstract

This chapter explores dynamics of informality in the post-socialist Hungarian context by focusing on low-level corruption and informal economic practices and employing a socio-legal perspective. It looks at the interactions between people, state officials, and institutions, searching for disconnects between the law as it is posited by the state and law as it is lived, disconnects thus resulting in plural normative orders. The chapter draws on data collected between April and May 2015 including 20 in-depth interviews and observations. The participants were recruited from—and connected to—the state sectors which are most influenced by informal economic practices: police, health care, education, local government, and handling the European Union funds.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland

    Fanni Gyurko

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  1. Fanni Gyurko
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law & Government, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Abel Polese

  2. Institute of International Studies, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

    Abel Polese

  3. Centre Émile Durkheim, Sciences Po Bordeaux, Pessac, France

    Alessandra Russo

  4. DIRPOLIS Institute of Law Politics and Development, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy

    Francesco Strazzari

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Gyurko, F. (2019). ‘Stealing from the State Is Not Stealing Really, It Is a National Sport’: A Study of Informal Economic Practices and Low-Level Corruption in Hungary. In: Polese, A., Russo, A., Strazzari, F. (eds) Governance Beyond the Law. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05039-9_11

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