This book illustrates why and how informality in governance is not necessarily transitory or
temporary but a constant in most systems of the world. The difference between various
administrative structures is not whether informality is present or not but where in which
areas it is located. The essays gathered in this volume demonstrate that in some cases
informal mechanisms are self-protective while in others they are perceived as 'normal'
responses and a set of tactics for individuals classes and communities to respond to unusual
demands. Where expectations-of the state a company or some commission-are too far from
citizens' existing models of normative behavior informal behavior continues to thrive. Indeed
new tactics are adopted in order to cope with disjunctions between theory and reality as well
as to serve as contrasts to values imposed by a center of power such as a central state a
city administration or the management board of a large company. The focus of the papers
contained in this book is two-fold and rests on an analysis of phenomena manifesting themselves
beyond and in spite of the state. The first part deals with areas where the state is not always
or only marginally active whilst the second analyzes activities performed in conflict with
state regulations i.e. behavior often studied from a criminal and legal standpoint.
