Journal on Policy and Complex Systems • Volume 5 , Number 2 • Fall 2019
When Well-Intentioned Legal Reform Goes Awry : A Case Study of Legal Loopholes and Challenges to Anti-Corruption Reform of Russia ’ s Complex Procurement System
Moskaleva Anastasia
Director of Moscow Research Institute for Standardization and Innovative Technologies
Abstract
This case study examines Russia ’ s public procurement system as an example of a complex system , and explores the social implications of attempts to reform this system . It highlights a key reality of complex social systems : the original intention of systems established to promote social order is often not fulfilled in practice . The same law meant to ensure healthy competition over government contracts in Russia is being manipulated by actors to restrict which companies win contracts in order to best suit their own personal interests . It explores the gap between what may appear to be an effective reform on paper , versus the actual implementation of this law and how human behavior functions in this complex system . By understanding the manipulation of legal loopholes , this case study then concludes by offering key lessons for other transparency reform efforts and considerations for how they will actually operate in practice within complex systems .
Keywords : Russian public procurement system ; complex social systems ; competition restriction ; legal loopholes in Russia ; Russian anti-corruption reform
151 doi : 10.18278 / jpcs . 5.2.9