The programme will involve 17 doctoral researchers doing their PhDs at the consortium's 14 member universities in Europe and Canada. Their research will focus on the interplay between society, law and governance in authoritarian Central Asian states such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
"This funding enables us to build a robust doctoral training program dedicated to understanding authoritarian legal landscapes," says Rustam Urinboyev, a sociology of law researcher at Lund University leading the project. "We will use innovative concepts and methodological tools to ensure that PhD students gain a deep understanding of the complex relationships between law, society and governance."
The European Commission's Horizon Europe programme contributes €4.5 million. The Swiss Secretariat for Research, Education and Innovation grants an additional €800,000.
The project will address the challenges of promoting democratisation and good governance in authoritarian regimes. The findings will provide insights for policymakers and practitioners within and beyond the EU, offering strategies to support political reform and institutional strengthening in Central Asia and beyond.
Arbitrariness and unpredictability are common problems during fieldwork in authoritarian states. Laws are often numerous, contradictory and inconsistently enforced. To ensure that the doctoral researchers can do their research in the five Central Asian countries, the consortium has established partnerships with local associations, businesses and authorities.
'Sociology of Authoritarian Law: Insights from Central Asia' is the first doctoral network led by Lund University under the European Commission's Horizon programme. Rustam Urinboyev, however, has been involved before. The grant is his fourth from the European Research Council since 2019.
Read the article in full: Sociology of Law Department Leads €5.5M EU-Funded Research on Authoritarian Law and Legality in Central Asia