Replication Data for: Imperial Legal Politics After theAge of Empires How the Russian Judiciary Adjudicates Commercial Disputes in Crimea

What is the role of law in imperial state-building projects? We study this question of historical significance with an empirical focus on Russian commercial courts in Crimea. We document the rise of disputes that involve the Russian state and strong pro-government favoritism in court decisions. We also find that commercial courts are used as a check on local political elites. At the same time, our analysis establishes favoritism towards local businesses in disputes with Russian businesses. Most importantly, we highlight that this stick-and-carrot legal politics is not just imposed from above. We find that local judges who defected to Russia act more favorably than outsider judges appointed from Russia towards the Russian state and businesses, plausibly because local judges want to signal their loyalty. The implication is that imperial legal domination emerges not only through directives from the metropole, but also through the everyday contributions of local imperial intermediaries.法律在帝国建国进程中扮演着何种角色？我们以这一兼具历史意义的研究问题为核心，以克里米亚地区的俄罗斯商事法院为实证研究对象。我们梳理了涉及俄罗斯国家的纠纷数量攀升的态势，以及法院裁判中显著的亲政府偏袒倾向。同时我们发现，商事法院被用作制衡地方政治精英的制度工具。此外，我们的分析还揭示，在与俄罗斯企业的纠纷中，法院存在偏袒本地企业的倾向。最为关键的是，我们指出，这种"大棒加胡萝卜"式的法律政治并非仅由自上而下强制推行。我们发现，相较于从俄罗斯本土委派的外来法官，归顺俄罗斯的本地法官在针对俄罗斯国家与企业的裁判中会展现出更强的偏袒倾向，这一现象大概率源于本地法官希望借此彰显自身的忠诚度。本研究的启示在于，帝国的法律支配不仅通过宗主国的指令得以构建，更依托本地帝国居间者的日常实践得以实现。