The State in Private Sustainability Governance: Contestation, Limited Statehood and Forest Certification in Russia

The chapter examines how forest certification unfolds in the Russian forest sector conceptualized as an area of limited statehood. Two central research questions are addressed. First, what is the role of the shadow of state hierarchy in the institutionalization of forest certification in Russia? Second, what kind of contestation does forest certification generate among state and non-state actors and how does contestation affect forest certification development? The chapter argues that the role of the state was not as much the provision of the shadow of hierarchy for forest certification, as the involvement of the state in a variety of interactions with non-state actors, including environmental groups and industry, most prominently the contestation and negotiation of what sustainable forest management means in the Russian context.