Devolved Corporatism: Fictive Kinship at the Nexus Between Paternalist and Neoliberal Labour Relations

Abstract

Historically, corporatist arrangements have been seen as a way of representing interest groups - in both democratic and non-democratic contexts. Furthermore, social cohesion can be thought of in terms of supply and demand side resources and mechanisms for which corporatism represents a possible vehicle of expression. While the Russian state has generally only paid lip-service to corporatist forms, this article explores the generation ‘from below’ of ersatz work-place incorporation of citizens - attempts to address their needs for representation through the dramatic front and back-stage work within enterprises short of trade unionism. After sketching the history of paternalistic, enterprise relations, the article focusses on the post-2022 context. Based on long-term ethnographic evidence, the author proposes a variety of types of quasiincorporating moments in contemporary waged work in Russia. Three case studies reflect a desire among workers to evoke fictive kinship with their enterprises and the differing stances of employers. These are categorized as possibly generalizable types, from ‘supplicant incorporation’ in new workplaces after 2022; Neoliberal paternalism as ‘fictive kinship’, and ‘realist scepticism’ about corporatist offerings. Articulation of devolved corporatism via metaphors of, or approximating relations of fictive kinship is strongly inflected by paternalist models of interaction extant from the Soviet period. The particular labour paradox in Russia (structural strength yet associational weakness) may lead to the emergence of a devolved corporatism. The paradox, understandable to both workers and employers alike may provoke further the articulation through symbolic interaction and affective modes of fictive kinship.