New trade formations: precarity, pragmatic cosmopolitanism and long-distance trade in the Caucasus

Abstract

For many ordinary people responding to ongoing post-Soviet precarity, domestic and transnational trade has become a common choice of livelihood. This article is about the small and medium sized traders who deal in cheap Chinese commodities in the Caucasus –particularly in Georgia and Armenia. It introduces the notion of ‘trade formations’ to account for the multiple ways in which cross-cultural trade and microfinance practices, as well as stereotypes about national and regional groups and trading minorities, highlight the role of trust, reputation and everyday diplomacy in long-distance commercial networks. While current trade networks are rooted in the cultures of trade practised under the Soviets, dispositions of pragmatic cosmopolitanism and defensive nationalism often determine who may or may not respond to post-Soviet precarity by turning to transnational trade, embracing political and religious diversity, and overlooking hostilities, past and present.