Public Law in a Hybrid State: Legal Reform and Global Sociology in Uzbekistan

Public Law in a Hybrid State presents a broad sociological analysis of legal developments in contemporary Uzbekistan, using this example to assess why states with some authoritarian features may promote legal reforms and why the modernization of legal institutions may generate benefits for governments. It examines how, alongside constitutional changes, reforms in administrative law play an important role in polities with hybrid constitutions, shaping the architecture of government and constructing procedures to manage exchanges between government and citizens. Placing these reform processes in the longer-term context of postimperial history, it also shows how changes to legal systems acquire distinctive importance in societies with recent experiences of decolonization, uncertain sovereignty, and unstable patterns of citizenship. “An outstanding and timely study of how administrative and constitutional reforms are reshaping public authority in Uzbekistan.” — TIMUR DADABAEV, University of Tsukuba, Japan “This important work examines Uzbekistan’s constitutional developments through a legal sociology lens, masterfully linking global forces to domestic transformations and local realities.” — LYNETTE J. CHUA, National University of Singapore “Essential reading for anyone interested in comparative public law and the global sociology of constitutions.” — AGNIESZKA KUBAL, University of Oxford “A very important contribution to a neglected topic.” — PETER FINKE, University of Zurich CHRIS THORNHILL is Professor of Law at the University of Birmingham. RUSTAMJON URINBOYEV is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology of Law at Lund University. TOLIBJON MUSTAFOEV is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology of Law at Lund University.