Comparative Research Design - The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neopatrimonial States - page 79

They were tolerated in the USSR and gained importance during the transformation phase.
Given the importance of the FSK, it is not surprising that it also still shapes power relations in
rural places. Formal as well as informal local governance institutions of each case will now be
described.
Kyrgyzstan
Following the government resolution No. 187 "On Establishing Executive Bodies Of Local
Government (Village Authority)", the Kyrgyz government established 487 aiyl okmotu (munici
palities, a/o) as authorities of local self government. Each a/o includes one to twelve villages,
mostly matching the territory of the FSK. The aiyl okmotu administration usually has a staff
between 11 to 17 employees (Giovarelli, Akmatova 2002). Functions and responsibilities for
merly performed by the FSK or the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection were transferred
to the a/o. In 1999, an elected local council ( kenesh ) was established. In most settlements, the
local kenesh exists alongside several other elected or appointed organizations like the women's
council and the veterans' council, which are legacies from Soviet times. Initially, the head of
the aiyl okmotu was appointed by the head of the raion (district) with the consensus of the raion 's
kenesh (district parliament); since 2001 he is elected by the population. The reform process was
assisted by programs of UNDP, WB, ADB, USAID, Soros Foundation and others. Still, how
ever, local self governance suffers from inadequate budgeting, low professional capacity of the
staff, insufficient state support, and a weak legal framework (GoK n.d.: 44f). Despite the elec
tions, local akims generally owe their position to patronage networks, which in practice pre
vents opposing candidates from registering themselves and successfully running for office
(Lewis 2006: 26). The local administration is by the principle of "double subordination" subor
dinate to the presidential apparatus (Hassan et al. 2004: 7f). Despite the fact that the councils
and heads of a/o are now being elected instead of being appointed, the case study research
gave no reason to assume that the local population considers itself well represented and trusts
the official local governance institutions.
One important local value is social harmony and the avoidance of conflicts, which is mo
nitored by local institutions such as the mahalla committee or the sud aksakolov . One of their
main functions is to solve conflicts peacefully within the village preferably without the in
volvement of official authorities especially not from outside the village. In this respect, the
court of elders ( sud aksakalov or aksakal sotu ) plays a major role. The sud aksakalov refers to the
traditional position of elders ( aksakals) in regulating local relations and solving conflicts in the
village and among or within local families. 92 Based on customary law it aims to solve smaller
conflicts: land disputes, family affairs, cattle theft and also water disputes. It achieves its goals
by means of persuading, negotiation, and through the exertion of social pressure (such as sanc
tioning behavior with shame or prestige). This reflects the general authority of the elders,
which represents a powerful norm in informal governance. During Russian colonization, the
positions of aksakals were formalized and partly incorporated in the colonial regime such as the
aryk aksakal , who was responsible for the small channels ( aryk ). Even though the Soviet gov
ernment banned customary law and informal institutions in 1927, the influence of the elders
prevailed informally. It gained relevance after independence when the old Soviet system of
control eroded. Today's members of the court of elders are usually respected members of the
community, who often held (or hold) important positions (director of kolkhoz , brigadier, po
liceman, teacher. They are mostly (but not necessarily) old and mostly men. In 1995, the court
92 Often, the court of elders as such is considered a traditional institution. Beyer (2006, 2007) showed that while the
aksakals as village or clan elders have existed for a long time, the court of elders is a relatively new invention.