A paper by Simon Ertz, a PhD student in history at Stanford University, on "Making Sense of the Gulag: Analyzing and Interpreting the Function of the Stalinist Camp System," is no. 50 in the PERSA series. Ertz's paper makes two claims. First, it asserts that approaches focusing on institutions and their policies are indispensable in identifying the essential functions of the Stalinist camp system. To illustrate this point, it presents three various, though interrelated methods suited for research in this direction. Dwelling on the insights gained in the process, it proceeds to demonstrate, second, that the Stalinist camp system, while operating within a set of politically and ideologically defined parameters, functioned largely according to economic principles, and concludes by explaining why this is not a paradox. Originally received on 17 August 2007, the paper is freely available on line from www.warwick.ac.uk/go/persa.