Property, Predation, and Protection: Piranha Capitalism in Russia and Ukraine

What threatens the property rights of business owners – and what makes these rights secure? This book transcends the conventional diagnosis of the issue in modern developing countries by moving beyond expropriation by the state ruler or by petty bureaucratic corruption. It identifies “agent predation” as a novel threat type, showing it to be particularly widespread and detrimental. The book also questions the orthodox prescription: institutionalized state commitment cannot secure property r...