5. The Moral Economy of Consensus and Informality in Uzbekistan

This chapter looks at the transformation of Uzbek society by investigating the changing nature of authoritarianism from a moral economy perspective. The focus of analysis is on the relationship between informal economy and authoritarianism in Uzbekistan. It addresses how the workings of the informal economy shape the political sensibilities of the Uzbek new middle classes. The chapter takes inspiration from Chris Hann’s (2018) approach to the moral economy, in which the study of the transformation of social values across history figures prominently, but it also puts the Uzbekistan case in explicit comparison with his Hungarian case study. In both settings, significant connections subsist between illiberal politics, economy and populism/nationalism. Chris Hann’s work helps us understanding how, in both contexts, populist and nationalist elites rely on (and seek to manipulate) historically shaped values that resonate with people’s lived experiences and moral horizons.