Stein Ringen
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208937
- eISBN:
- 9789888313877
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208937.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
The Chinese system is like no other known to man, now or in history. This book explains how the system works and where it may be moving.
Drawing on Chinese and international sources, on extensive ...
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The Chinese system is like no other known to man, now or in history. This book explains how the system works and where it may be moving.
Drawing on Chinese and international sources, on extensive collaboration with Chinese scholars, and on the political science of state analysis, the author concludes that under the new leadership of Xi Jinping, the system of government has been transformed into a new regime radically harder and more ideological than the legacy of Deng Xiaoping. China is less strong economically and more dictatorial politically than the world has wanted to believe.
By analysing the leadership of Xi Jinping, the meaning of ‘socialist market economy’, corruption, the party-state apparatus, the reach of the party, the mechanisms of repression, taxation and public services, and state-society relations, the book broadens the field of China studies, as well as the fields of political economy, comparative politics, development, and welfare state studies.Less
The Chinese system is like no other known to man, now or in history. This book explains how the system works and where it may be moving.
Drawing on Chinese and international sources, on extensive collaboration with Chinese scholars, and on the political science of state analysis, the author concludes that under the new leadership of Xi Jinping, the system of government has been transformed into a new regime radically harder and more ideological than the legacy of Deng Xiaoping. China is less strong economically and more dictatorial politically than the world has wanted to believe.
By analysing the leadership of Xi Jinping, the meaning of ‘socialist market economy’, corruption, the party-state apparatus, the reach of the party, the mechanisms of repression, taxation and public services, and state-society relations, the book broadens the field of China studies, as well as the fields of political economy, comparative politics, development, and welfare state studies.
Henry E. Hale and Robert W. Orttung (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780804798457
- eISBN:
- 9781503600102
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804798457.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This book examines the prospects for advancing reform in Ukraine in the wake of the February 2014 Euromaidan revolution. It examines six crucial areas of reform: identity-memory divides, corruption, ...
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This book examines the prospects for advancing reform in Ukraine in the wake of the February 2014 Euromaidan revolution. It examines six crucial areas of reform: identity-memory divides, corruption, constitution, judiciary, patrimonialism and the oligarchs, and the economy. On each of these topics, the book provides one chapter that focuses on Ukraine’s experience and one chapter that examines the issue in the broader context of other international practice. Placing Ukraine in comparative perspective shows that many of the country’s problems are not unique and that other countries have been able to address many of the issues currently confronting Ukraine. The chapters provide an in-depth analysis of Ukraine’s challenges and describe the difficulties Ukrainians will have in overcoming the numerous obstacles to reform. As with the constitution, there are no easy answers, but careful analysis shows that some solutions are better than others. Ultimately, the authors offer a series of reforms that can help Ukraine make the best of a bad situation. The book stresses the need to focus on reforms that might not have immediate effect, but that comparative experience shows can solve fundamental contextual challenges. Finally, the book shows that pressures from outside Ukraine can have a strong positive influence on reform efforts inside the country.Less
This book examines the prospects for advancing reform in Ukraine in the wake of the February 2014 Euromaidan revolution. It examines six crucial areas of reform: identity-memory divides, corruption, constitution, judiciary, patrimonialism and the oligarchs, and the economy. On each of these topics, the book provides one chapter that focuses on Ukraine’s experience and one chapter that examines the issue in the broader context of other international practice. Placing Ukraine in comparative perspective shows that many of the country’s problems are not unique and that other countries have been able to address many of the issues currently confronting Ukraine. The chapters provide an in-depth analysis of Ukraine’s challenges and describe the difficulties Ukrainians will have in overcoming the numerous obstacles to reform. As with the constitution, there are no easy answers, but careful analysis shows that some solutions are better than others. Ultimately, the authors offer a series of reforms that can help Ukraine make the best of a bad situation. The book stresses the need to focus on reforms that might not have immediate effect, but that comparative experience shows can solve fundamental contextual challenges. Finally, the book shows that pressures from outside Ukraine can have a strong positive influence on reform efforts inside the country.
A.G. Noorani
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195678291
- eISBN:
- 9780199080588
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195678291.003.0044
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter discusses the legal aspects concerning the bribery of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Members of Parliament (MP) in India. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, it ...
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This chapter discusses the legal aspects concerning the bribery of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Members of Parliament (MP) in India. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, it is not an offence to bribe an MLA or MP. This was not so even under Prevention of Corruption Act 1947. These acts were enacted to penalize the offer to and receipt or demand of a bribe by a minister, a civil servant, or a voter as these were considered public servants. However, a Constitution bench of five judges to the Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that MLA is not a public servant and not covered by anti-corruption law. In addition, the Salmon Commission held that an MLA does not perform a public duty and that membership of parliament does not constitute public office for the purposes of the common law.Less
This chapter discusses the legal aspects concerning the bribery of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Members of Parliament (MP) in India. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, it is not an offence to bribe an MLA or MP. This was not so even under Prevention of Corruption Act 1947. These acts were enacted to penalize the offer to and receipt or demand of a bribe by a minister, a civil servant, or a voter as these were considered public servants. However, a Constitution bench of five judges to the Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that MLA is not a public servant and not covered by anti-corruption law. In addition, the Salmon Commission held that an MLA does not perform a public duty and that membership of parliament does not constitute public office for the purposes of the common law.
Junji Nakagawa
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199604661
- eISBN:
- 9780191731679
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199604661.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter analyzes international harmonization of regulations controlling two major types of international economic crimes: transnational money laundering and foreign corrupt practices. In both ...
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This chapter analyzes international harmonization of regulations controlling two major types of international economic crimes: transnational money laundering and foreign corrupt practices. In both cases, harmonization efforts started as domestic, notably US, regulation, which expanded into global regulation through international standard setting bodies, such as the FATF (Financial Action Task Force), the European Council on transnational money laundering and the OECD and UN on foreign corrupt practices. Involvement of the private sector, notably by private banks, in the drafting and implementation of the FATF Forty Recommendations is analyzed as an example of public-private partnership (PPP) in international harmonization.Less
This chapter analyzes international harmonization of regulations controlling two major types of international economic crimes: transnational money laundering and foreign corrupt practices. In both cases, harmonization efforts started as domestic, notably US, regulation, which expanded into global regulation through international standard setting bodies, such as the FATF (Financial Action Task Force), the European Council on transnational money laundering and the OECD and UN on foreign corrupt practices. Involvement of the private sector, notably by private banks, in the drafting and implementation of the FATF Forty Recommendations is analyzed as an example of public-private partnership (PPP) in international harmonization.
Philip Harling
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205760
- eISBN:
- 9780191676772
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205760.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
Most historians of Britain now take for granted that a narrow and mostly landed élite managed to retain its social supremacy throughout much of the 19th century. But as of yet, there is no thorough ...
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Most historians of Britain now take for granted that a narrow and mostly landed élite managed to retain its social supremacy throughout much of the 19th century. But as of yet, there is no thorough explanation for the persistence of the old elite's political authority in an age when that authority was seriously questioned by many Britons. In this study, the book furnishes an important part of this explanation. It argues that the mostly Pittite governing élite helped to allay the suspicions of parasitism at the root of the familiar critique of ‘Old Corruption’ by responding to intense pressure to sanitize government. They did this by reducing and redistributing the tax burden; by eliminating serious administrative abuses such as the grant of lucrative sinecures and unmerited pensions; and by ostentatiously dedicating themselves to public business rather than the pursuit of wasteful privileges for themselves and their hangers-on. If the frugal, liberal state that partly resulted from these reforms was scarcely capable of ameliorating social injustice, at least it could no longer be seen to contribute to it through favouritism and a heavy and inequitable tax load. Such a state was well suited for the preservation of a narrow ruling elite.Less
Most historians of Britain now take for granted that a narrow and mostly landed élite managed to retain its social supremacy throughout much of the 19th century. But as of yet, there is no thorough explanation for the persistence of the old elite's political authority in an age when that authority was seriously questioned by many Britons. In this study, the book furnishes an important part of this explanation. It argues that the mostly Pittite governing élite helped to allay the suspicions of parasitism at the root of the familiar critique of ‘Old Corruption’ by responding to intense pressure to sanitize government. They did this by reducing and redistributing the tax burden; by eliminating serious administrative abuses such as the grant of lucrative sinecures and unmerited pensions; and by ostentatiously dedicating themselves to public business rather than the pursuit of wasteful privileges for themselves and their hangers-on. If the frugal, liberal state that partly resulted from these reforms was scarcely capable of ameliorating social injustice, at least it could no longer be seen to contribute to it through favouritism and a heavy and inequitable tax load. Such a state was well suited for the preservation of a narrow ruling elite.
Chris Miller
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469640662
- eISBN:
- 9781469640679
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469640662.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
When Vladimir Putin first took power in 1999, he was a little-known figure ruling a country that was reeling from a decade and a half of crisis. In the years since, he has reestablished Russia as a ...
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When Vladimir Putin first took power in 1999, he was a little-known figure ruling a country that was reeling from a decade and a half of crisis. In the years since, he has reestablished Russia as a great power. How did he do it? What principles have guided Putin's economic policies? What patterns can be discerned? In this new analysis of Putin's Russia, Chris Miller examines its economic policy and the tools Russia's elite have used to achieve its goals. Miller argues that despite Russia's corruption, cronyism, and overdependence on oil as an economic driver, Putin's economic strategy has been surprisingly successful. Explaining the economic policies that underwrote Putin's two-decades-long rule, Miller shows how, at every juncture, Putinomics has served Putin's needs by guaranteeing economic stability and supporting his accumulation of power. Even in the face of Western financial sanctions and low oil prices, Putin has never been more relevant on the world stage.
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When Vladimir Putin first took power in 1999, he was a little-known figure ruling a country that was reeling from a decade and a half of crisis. In the years since, he has reestablished Russia as a great power. How did he do it? What principles have guided Putin's economic policies? What patterns can be discerned? In this new analysis of Putin's Russia, Chris Miller examines its economic policy and the tools Russia's elite have used to achieve its goals. Miller argues that despite Russia's corruption, cronyism, and overdependence on oil as an economic driver, Putin's economic strategy has been surprisingly successful. Explaining the economic policies that underwrote Putin's two-decades-long rule, Miller shows how, at every juncture, Putinomics has served Putin's needs by guaranteeing economic stability and supporting his accumulation of power. Even in the face of Western financial sanctions and low oil prices, Putin has never been more relevant on the world stage.
Peter Knoepfel
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781447345053
- eISBN:
- 9781447345091
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447345053.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter, which is dedicated to the resource Money, challenges the saying that ‘money has no smell’. Money should not be confused with the resource Property and cannot be considered as a ...
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This chapter, which is dedicated to the resource Money, challenges the saying that ‘money has no smell’. Money should not be confused with the resource Property and cannot be considered as a ‘super-resource’ because, among other reasons, irregular uses of this resource are frequent (not only as means of corruption) and the modalities of its use are highly regulated. The examples are drawn from public tendering policies and several policies that use subsidies aimed at selected target groups (agricultural, environmental, social or land-use policy). The chapter deals in particular with incentive-based policies, the use of money to generate political support and many examples of resource exchanges involving Money, e.g. for Personnel, Property, Consensus, Information and Law.Less
This chapter, which is dedicated to the resource Money, challenges the saying that ‘money has no smell’. Money should not be confused with the resource Property and cannot be considered as a ‘super-resource’ because, among other reasons, irregular uses of this resource are frequent (not only as means of corruption) and the modalities of its use are highly regulated. The examples are drawn from public tendering policies and several policies that use subsidies aimed at selected target groups (agricultural, environmental, social or land-use policy). The chapter deals in particular with incentive-based policies, the use of money to generate political support and many examples of resource exchanges involving Money, e.g. for Personnel, Property, Consensus, Information and Law.
Gary Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719097652
- eISBN:
- 9781526109712
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719097652.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The aim of this book is to assess the quarter century of political competition in the Republic of Ireland from the time of the ending of recession of the 1980s up to the 2011 general election where ...
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The aim of this book is to assess the quarter century of political competition in the Republic of Ireland from the time of the ending of recession of the 1980s up to the 2011 general election where Ireland was ruled by the Troika and austerity was a by-word for both policy making and how many people lived their lives. This book assesses in a thematic way the forces which shaped the decisions that political elites in Ireland took over the course of this crucial quarter century in modern Irish life. It examines the nature of electoral competition in modern Ireland by focusing on a number of key themes that shaped the decisions of Irish politicians. These include the nature of coalition politics in Ireland; the payments to politicians by developers and businessmen that led to a number of tribunals of inquiry; the culture wars over divorce and abortion; the process of the economic collapse to boom and back to collapse cycle that effected the lives of so many Irish people; and the collapse of Ireland's natural party of government, Fianna Fáil. It analyses why Irish citizens have been comfortable in continuing to vote for traditional political elites despite the failures of the Irish state and explains why it has been so difficult for new parties to emerge.Less
The aim of this book is to assess the quarter century of political competition in the Republic of Ireland from the time of the ending of recession of the 1980s up to the 2011 general election where Ireland was ruled by the Troika and austerity was a by-word for both policy making and how many people lived their lives. This book assesses in a thematic way the forces which shaped the decisions that political elites in Ireland took over the course of this crucial quarter century in modern Irish life. It examines the nature of electoral competition in modern Ireland by focusing on a number of key themes that shaped the decisions of Irish politicians. These include the nature of coalition politics in Ireland; the payments to politicians by developers and businessmen that led to a number of tribunals of inquiry; the culture wars over divorce and abortion; the process of the economic collapse to boom and back to collapse cycle that effected the lives of so many Irish people; and the collapse of Ireland's natural party of government, Fianna Fáil. It analyses why Irish citizens have been comfortable in continuing to vote for traditional political elites despite the failures of the Irish state and explains why it has been so difficult for new parties to emerge.
Peter Jones
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780719088728
- eISBN:
- 9781781706411
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719088728.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
From Virtue to Venality examines the problem of corruption in British urban society and politics between 1930 and 1995. It is not a conventional study of the politics of local government since it ...
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From Virtue to Venality examines the problem of corruption in British urban society and politics between 1930 and 1995. It is not a conventional study of the politics of local government since it seeks to place corruption in urban societies in a wider cultural context. It reclaims the study of corruption from political scientists and sociologists for historians but provides theoretical explanations of the causes of corruption testing them against real cases. The legacy of the municipal gospel, public service ideals and ethical principles are analysed to show how public virtues were eroded over time. It argues that the key counterweight against corruption is a strong civil society but that British civil society became detached from the city and urban society allowing corrupt politicians and business men licence to further their own ambitions by corrupt means. Britain’s imperial past deflected political leaders from the evidence before them contributing to their failure to develop reforms. The accounts of corruption in Glasgow – a British Chicago – as well as the major corruption scandals of John Poulson and T. Dan Smith show how Labour controlled towns and cities were especially vulnerable to corrupt dealings. The case of Dame Shirley Porter in the City of Westminster in the late 1980s reveals that Conservative controlled councils were also vulnerable since in London the stakes of the political struggle were especially intense.Less
From Virtue to Venality examines the problem of corruption in British urban society and politics between 1930 and 1995. It is not a conventional study of the politics of local government since it seeks to place corruption in urban societies in a wider cultural context. It reclaims the study of corruption from political scientists and sociologists for historians but provides theoretical explanations of the causes of corruption testing them against real cases. The legacy of the municipal gospel, public service ideals and ethical principles are analysed to show how public virtues were eroded over time. It argues that the key counterweight against corruption is a strong civil society but that British civil society became detached from the city and urban society allowing corrupt politicians and business men licence to further their own ambitions by corrupt means. Britain’s imperial past deflected political leaders from the evidence before them contributing to their failure to develop reforms. The accounts of corruption in Glasgow – a British Chicago – as well as the major corruption scandals of John Poulson and T. Dan Smith show how Labour controlled towns and cities were especially vulnerable to corrupt dealings. The case of Dame Shirley Porter in the City of Westminster in the late 1980s reveals that Conservative controlled councils were also vulnerable since in London the stakes of the political struggle were especially intense.
James Heinzen
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300175257
- eISBN:
- 9780300224764
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300175257.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Russian and Former Soviet Union History
Traditions of official corruption inherited from the Soviet and late Imperial eras have continued to touch Russian life since the collapse of the USSR. This study is the first archive-based, ...
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Traditions of official corruption inherited from the Soviet and late Imperial eras have continued to touch Russian life since the collapse of the USSR. This study is the first archive-based, historical study of bribery and corruption in the Soviet Union for this period. A study of the solicitation and offering of bribes forms the heart of this research. Bribery (vziatochnichestvo)—typically defined in law as gifts in cash or in kind intended to influence public officials to the benefit of the giver—represents the paradigmatic variety of corruption. This study takes a novel approach to the phenomenon of the bribe, examining it as an integral part of an unofficial yet essential series of relationships upon which much of Soviet society and state administration relied in order to function, as it gradually became part of the fabric of everyday life. The book examines three major, related themes. The book’s first theme, “The Landscape of Bribery,” concerns the nature and varieties of bribery, while painting a sociological portrait of the people involved. Whom did prosecutors accuse of such crimes? The second major topic addresses the regime’s attempts to understand the causes of bribery, and then to wipe it out through centrally directed anti-corruption “campaigns.” “The view from below,” which examines popular perceptions and understandings of bribery, constitutes the third dimension of the study. Focusing on bribery among police, court, and other law enforcement employees, this phase explores the imprecise and shifting line that separated “acceptable” from “unacceptable” behavior.Less
Traditions of official corruption inherited from the Soviet and late Imperial eras have continued to touch Russian life since the collapse of the USSR. This study is the first archive-based, historical study of bribery and corruption in the Soviet Union for this period. A study of the solicitation and offering of bribes forms the heart of this research. Bribery (vziatochnichestvo)—typically defined in law as gifts in cash or in kind intended to influence public officials to the benefit of the giver—represents the paradigmatic variety of corruption. This study takes a novel approach to the phenomenon of the bribe, examining it as an integral part of an unofficial yet essential series of relationships upon which much of Soviet society and state administration relied in order to function, as it gradually became part of the fabric of everyday life. The book examines three major, related themes. The book’s first theme, “The Landscape of Bribery,” concerns the nature and varieties of bribery, while painting a sociological portrait of the people involved. Whom did prosecutors accuse of such crimes? The second major topic addresses the regime’s attempts to understand the causes of bribery, and then to wipe it out through centrally directed anti-corruption “campaigns.” “The view from below,” which examines popular perceptions and understandings of bribery, constitutes the third dimension of the study. Focusing on bribery among police, court, and other law enforcement employees, this phase explores the imprecise and shifting line that separated “acceptable” from “unacceptable” behavior.
David Hine and Gillian Peele
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719097133
- eISBN:
- 9781526109873
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719097133.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Integrity issues have become an important item on the British political agenda since the 1990s when ‘sleaze’ prompted John Major to set up the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The book analyses ...
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Integrity issues have become an important item on the British political agenda since the 1990s when ‘sleaze’ prompted John Major to set up the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The book analyses the range of ethical problems which confront the political system and the efforts to address them. It addresses the tightening of standards in response to misconduct in Parliament, in central and local government and in the devolved systems. It also addresses perennial ethical questions such as lobbying and party funding which continue to trouble the United Kingdom as they do other major democracies. The chief purpose of the book is to understand the regulatory dilemmas which face policy-makers as they struggle to produce new machinery and codes to tackle the risk of misconduct. Thus we examine, for example, the choice between self-regulation and independent regulation, decisions about the amount of transparency required of office-holders, and how to achieve proportionality in the balance between perceived problems and regulatory burdens. We also attempt to assess the impact of more than two decades of ethical engineering on the office holders and the public.Less
Integrity issues have become an important item on the British political agenda since the 1990s when ‘sleaze’ prompted John Major to set up the Committee on Standards in Public Life. The book analyses the range of ethical problems which confront the political system and the efforts to address them. It addresses the tightening of standards in response to misconduct in Parliament, in central and local government and in the devolved systems. It also addresses perennial ethical questions such as lobbying and party funding which continue to trouble the United Kingdom as they do other major democracies. The chief purpose of the book is to understand the regulatory dilemmas which face policy-makers as they struggle to produce new machinery and codes to tackle the risk of misconduct. Thus we examine, for example, the choice between self-regulation and independent regulation, decisions about the amount of transparency required of office-holders, and how to achieve proportionality in the balance between perceived problems and regulatory burdens. We also attempt to assess the impact of more than two decades of ethical engineering on the office holders and the public.
PHILIP HARLING
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205760
- eISBN:
- 9780191676772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205760.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
In this study, the book argues that the mostly Pittite governing élite helped to allay the suspicions of parasitism at the root of the familiar critique of ‘Old Corruption’ by responding to intense ...
More
In this study, the book argues that the mostly Pittite governing élite helped to allay the suspicions of parasitism at the root of the familiar critique of ‘Old Corruption’ by responding to intense pressure to sanitize government. They did this by reducing and redistributing the tax burden; by eliminating serious administrative abuses such as the grant of lucrative sinecures and unmerited pensions; and by ostentatiously dedicating themselves to public business rather than the pursuit of wasteful privileges for themselves and their hangers-on. The evolution of ‘good government’ or ‘rational’ standards of public service among ministers and other public officers also helped to weaken the charges of deliberate bureaucratic waste and malfeasance that were so prominent during and immediately after the French Wars.Less
In this study, the book argues that the mostly Pittite governing élite helped to allay the suspicions of parasitism at the root of the familiar critique of ‘Old Corruption’ by responding to intense pressure to sanitize government. They did this by reducing and redistributing the tax burden; by eliminating serious administrative abuses such as the grant of lucrative sinecures and unmerited pensions; and by ostentatiously dedicating themselves to public business rather than the pursuit of wasteful privileges for themselves and their hangers-on. The evolution of ‘good government’ or ‘rational’ standards of public service among ministers and other public officers also helped to weaken the charges of deliberate bureaucratic waste and malfeasance that were so prominent during and immediately after the French Wars.
PHILIP HARLING
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205760
- eISBN:
- 9780191676772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205760.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
The critique of ‘Old Corruption’ arose from discontent with the wartime opportunities for feeding off the public spoil that the fiscal-military state ostensibly furnished to ministers and their ...
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The critique of ‘Old Corruption’ arose from discontent with the wartime opportunities for feeding off the public spoil that the fiscal-military state ostensibly furnished to ministers and their cronies. This became especially formidable during the unprecedentedly expensive and seemingly endless wars with France between 1793 and 1815. The growth of the fiscal-military state during the American War had put far too much money in the hands of the executive. The machinery of government had to be improved for strictly administrative reasons and the operators themselves had to be seen to be ‘virtuous’ — not interested in turning office to their own pecuniary and political advantage at public expense. Pitt succeeded in this task where his immediate predecessors failed. One important consequence of his strict personal probity and his well-known reforms of the 1780s was to help finally to bring to an end the fairly widespread suspicion of ministerial greed that had been fostered by the American War.Less
The critique of ‘Old Corruption’ arose from discontent with the wartime opportunities for feeding off the public spoil that the fiscal-military state ostensibly furnished to ministers and their cronies. This became especially formidable during the unprecedentedly expensive and seemingly endless wars with France between 1793 and 1815. The growth of the fiscal-military state during the American War had put far too much money in the hands of the executive. The machinery of government had to be improved for strictly administrative reasons and the operators themselves had to be seen to be ‘virtuous’ — not interested in turning office to their own pecuniary and political advantage at public expense. Pitt succeeded in this task where his immediate predecessors failed. One important consequence of his strict personal probity and his well-known reforms of the 1780s was to help finally to bring to an end the fairly widespread suspicion of ministerial greed that had been fostered by the American War.
PHILIP HARLING
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205760
- eISBN:
- 9780191676772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205760.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter explores how several factors contributed to the dramatic growth of the critique of ‘Old Corruption’ and the failure of Pittite reform after the turn of the century. Pitt's colleagues ...
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This chapter explores how several factors contributed to the dramatic growth of the critique of ‘Old Corruption’ and the failure of Pittite reform after the turn of the century. Pitt's colleagues were quick to take advantage of his carelessness in patronage matters. When Henry Dundas, Pitt's sedulous chief adviser, became President of the Board of Control, rumours abounded that he planned to make India an enormous treasure trove for himself and his connection. The Dundas affair, however, seriously weakened the Pitt ministry's attempt to protect the political system from popular agitation. Pitt and company were hard-pressed to prove that they were spending all of it to protect the nation, and not to reward ‘corrupt’ private interests at public expense. All combined to sully Pitt's reputation for disinterested management.Less
This chapter explores how several factors contributed to the dramatic growth of the critique of ‘Old Corruption’ and the failure of Pittite reform after the turn of the century. Pitt's colleagues were quick to take advantage of his carelessness in patronage matters. When Henry Dundas, Pitt's sedulous chief adviser, became President of the Board of Control, rumours abounded that he planned to make India an enormous treasure trove for himself and his connection. The Dundas affair, however, seriously weakened the Pitt ministry's attempt to protect the political system from popular agitation. Pitt and company were hard-pressed to prove that they were spending all of it to protect the nation, and not to reward ‘corrupt’ private interests at public expense. All combined to sully Pitt's reputation for disinterested management.
PHILIP HARLING
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198205760
- eISBN:
- 9780191676772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205760.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
An onerous tax burden, a mounting debt, a seemingly endless military struggle, and further evidence of malfeasance in high places combined to stimulate the critique of ‘Old Corruption’ and to broaden ...
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An onerous tax burden, a mounting debt, a seemingly endless military struggle, and further evidence of malfeasance in high places combined to stimulate the critique of ‘Old Corruption’ and to broaden the gap between popular political culture. From about the time of British politician William Pitt's death in 1806, a resurgent popular radical movement revived the traditional indictment of parasitism at the centre. It is stated that it was chiefly the Pitt ministry's wartime financial innovations that threatened the social hierarchy. While total wealth may well have increased, the artificial prosperity of wartime had led to dreadful social innovations. Inflation had brought about the almost entire extinction of the ancient country gentry, whose estates were being wallowed up by loan-jobbers, contractors, and others who had grown fat from playing the funds.Less
An onerous tax burden, a mounting debt, a seemingly endless military struggle, and further evidence of malfeasance in high places combined to stimulate the critique of ‘Old Corruption’ and to broaden the gap between popular political culture. From about the time of British politician William Pitt's death in 1806, a resurgent popular radical movement revived the traditional indictment of parasitism at the centre. It is stated that it was chiefly the Pitt ministry's wartime financial innovations that threatened the social hierarchy. While total wealth may well have increased, the artificial prosperity of wartime had led to dreadful social innovations. Inflation had brought about the almost entire extinction of the ancient country gentry, whose estates were being wallowed up by loan-jobbers, contractors, and others who had grown fat from playing the funds.
Gladys I. McCormick
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469628943
- eISBN:
- 9781469627762
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628943.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
Under the helm of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico witnessed one-party rule for almost eight decades, making it one of the most successful cases of authoritarianism in ...
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Under the helm of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico witnessed one-party rule for almost eight decades, making it one of the most successful cases of authoritarianism in twentieth-century Latin America. Rather than an urban-centered process, the book shows that the foundations of this system were linked to the containment and repression of rural peoples, many of who went on to support the PRI. To understand this support, the book tracks three peasant brothers, Rubén, Porfirio, and Antonio Jaramillo, affiliated with large-scale sugar cooperatives in the south-central region of Morelos and Puebla. Taking stock of how the brothers, two of whom were assassinated, negotiated the incursion of authoritarianism shows that accommodation was the most common response in the countryside. More than complicity, this accommodation was a product of ambivalent acceptance and continual violence. Using sources such as oral histories and secret police files, the book argues that the state was more violent than previously assumed and honed strategies of control in rural areas that it later employed in urban centers. This view unlocks the puzzle of the PRI-led state’s popular support, explaining how it remained in power until the year 2000 and why it regained the presidency in 2012.Less
Under the helm of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico witnessed one-party rule for almost eight decades, making it one of the most successful cases of authoritarianism in twentieth-century Latin America. Rather than an urban-centered process, the book shows that the foundations of this system were linked to the containment and repression of rural peoples, many of who went on to support the PRI. To understand this support, the book tracks three peasant brothers, Rubén, Porfirio, and Antonio Jaramillo, affiliated with large-scale sugar cooperatives in the south-central region of Morelos and Puebla. Taking stock of how the brothers, two of whom were assassinated, negotiated the incursion of authoritarianism shows that accommodation was the most common response in the countryside. More than complicity, this accommodation was a product of ambivalent acceptance and continual violence. Using sources such as oral histories and secret police files, the book argues that the state was more violent than previously assumed and honed strategies of control in rural areas that it later employed in urban centers. This view unlocks the puzzle of the PRI-led state’s popular support, explaining how it remained in power until the year 2000 and why it regained the presidency in 2012.
Andrew Mansfield
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719088377
- eISBN:
- 9781526103901
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719088377.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
Continuing the discussion of the previous chapter, this chapter observes how political and religious divisions continued to shape Britain and its ideology. After the Act of Settlement (1701), ...
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Continuing the discussion of the previous chapter, this chapter observes how political and religious divisions continued to shape Britain and its ideology. After the Act of Settlement (1701), opposition to the revolutionary settlement from the Jacobites saw an upsurge in their activities. Under the (‘pretended’) claimant James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766), Louis XIV’s backing of the Jacobites struck fear into the British who dreaded a French-led invasion. Following the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the accession of the Hanoverian King George I (1714) and failed Jacobite uprising in 1715-16 these fears were quashed. Other tensions and the growing importance of commercial activity, however, led to concerns regarding public virtue and political corruption. Discussion of British ideology during this period reveals the trepidations and solutions offered to consolidate government virtue and society in the commercial age.Less
Continuing the discussion of the previous chapter, this chapter observes how political and religious divisions continued to shape Britain and its ideology. After the Act of Settlement (1701), opposition to the revolutionary settlement from the Jacobites saw an upsurge in their activities. Under the (‘pretended’) claimant James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766), Louis XIV’s backing of the Jacobites struck fear into the British who dreaded a French-led invasion. Following the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the accession of the Hanoverian King George I (1714) and failed Jacobite uprising in 1715-16 these fears were quashed. Other tensions and the growing importance of commercial activity, however, led to concerns regarding public virtue and political corruption. Discussion of British ideology during this period reveals the trepidations and solutions offered to consolidate government virtue and society in the commercial age.
Andrew Mansfield
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719088377
- eISBN:
- 9781526103901
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719088377.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
This chapter discusses the first phase of Ramsay’s political works: the Essay de Politique (1719), Essay philosophique sur le gouvernement civil (1721) and the Vie de Fénelon (1723). It shows how ...
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This chapter discusses the first phase of Ramsay’s political works: the Essay de Politique (1719), Essay philosophique sur le gouvernement civil (1721) and the Vie de Fénelon (1723). It shows how Ramsay deliberately infused French theories of absolutism, specifically from Bossuet, to provide a robust British monarchy that could withstand revolution. Attacking the Glorious Revolution, the Whigs and parliamentary corruption, Ramsay claimed to use the political principles of Fénelon in order to promote a Jacobite restoration to the throne of Britain. Linking with the earlier contextual chapters, Ramsay’s deception is here uncovered while setting out the innovations in his methodology as well as his influences. A detailed analysis is offered of his reformed monarchy aided by an aristocratic senate. This model would aim to extirpate the British Parliament in favour of a form of centralised monarchy exemplified by Charles II.Less
This chapter discusses the first phase of Ramsay’s political works: the Essay de Politique (1719), Essay philosophique sur le gouvernement civil (1721) and the Vie de Fénelon (1723). It shows how Ramsay deliberately infused French theories of absolutism, specifically from Bossuet, to provide a robust British monarchy that could withstand revolution. Attacking the Glorious Revolution, the Whigs and parliamentary corruption, Ramsay claimed to use the political principles of Fénelon in order to promote a Jacobite restoration to the throne of Britain. Linking with the earlier contextual chapters, Ramsay’s deception is here uncovered while setting out the innovations in his methodology as well as his influences. A detailed analysis is offered of his reformed monarchy aided by an aristocratic senate. This model would aim to extirpate the British Parliament in favour of a form of centralised monarchy exemplified by Charles II.
Mark Hampton
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719099236
- eISBN:
- 9781526104373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719099236.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Imperialism and Colonialism
As Britain prepared for the 1997 change of sovereignty, it became common to cite Hong Kong as an example of the British talent for “good governance”, and to name the establishment of rule of law and ...
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As Britain prepared for the 1997 change of sovereignty, it became common to cite Hong Kong as an example of the British talent for “good governance”, and to name the establishment of rule of law and governing institutions as one of Britain’s most important legacies. Yet this emphasis on good governance was not only a parting reflection, but was a constant theme throughout the post-war period. Before the late 1960s, commentary emphasized minimal government and indirect rule, with magistrate Austin Coates likening himself to a Confucian “mandarin”. After the 1967-68 riots, the Government emphasized more proactive attempts to connect to their subjects, and to close the “gap” that had emerged between rulers and ruled. In this context, especially under Governor Murray MacLehose, it pursued numerous administrative and social reforms, established the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and significantly expanded its public relations efforts, while steadily avoiding any move toward democratization, even as such activists as Elsie Elliott called for it. Only once the change of sovereignty was inevitable did the British countenance serious democratic reforms, as the Christopher Patten government sought to leave a legacy. Throughout all these changes, the discourse of “good governance” constantly emphasized its pragmatic character.Less
As Britain prepared for the 1997 change of sovereignty, it became common to cite Hong Kong as an example of the British talent for “good governance”, and to name the establishment of rule of law and governing institutions as one of Britain’s most important legacies. Yet this emphasis on good governance was not only a parting reflection, but was a constant theme throughout the post-war period. Before the late 1960s, commentary emphasized minimal government and indirect rule, with magistrate Austin Coates likening himself to a Confucian “mandarin”. After the 1967-68 riots, the Government emphasized more proactive attempts to connect to their subjects, and to close the “gap” that had emerged between rulers and ruled. In this context, especially under Governor Murray MacLehose, it pursued numerous administrative and social reforms, established the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and significantly expanded its public relations efforts, while steadily avoiding any move toward democratization, even as such activists as Elsie Elliott called for it. Only once the change of sovereignty was inevitable did the British countenance serious democratic reforms, as the Christopher Patten government sought to leave a legacy. Throughout all these changes, the discourse of “good governance” constantly emphasized its pragmatic character.
Lisa Lindquist Dorr
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469643274
- eISBN:
- 9781469643298
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469643274.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
Throughout Prohibition, the Prohibition Bureau struggled to enforce Prohibition effectively. It experienced changes in leadership and strategies, and complaints about ineptitude and corruption among ...
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Throughout Prohibition, the Prohibition Bureau struggled to enforce Prohibition effectively. It experienced changes in leadership and strategies, and complaints about ineptitude and corruption among prohibition agents. Agents attempted to purchase liquor at the commercial establishments proliferating across the southern landscape, including at hotels, cafes, garages, gas stations and produce stands. Their efforts reveal the growth of a culture of consumption across the South. The vast amounts of liquor in the South and traveling through the South, however, tempted law enforcement into corruption, from local and state police, federal prohibition agents, to members of the Coast Guard. Some of them used their power to develop and control vice markets in their communities, and to enforce Prohibition unequally across race and class lines.Less
Throughout Prohibition, the Prohibition Bureau struggled to enforce Prohibition effectively. It experienced changes in leadership and strategies, and complaints about ineptitude and corruption among prohibition agents. Agents attempted to purchase liquor at the commercial establishments proliferating across the southern landscape, including at hotels, cafes, garages, gas stations and produce stands. Their efforts reveal the growth of a culture of consumption across the South. The vast amounts of liquor in the South and traveling through the South, however, tempted law enforcement into corruption, from local and state police, federal prohibition agents, to members of the Coast Guard. Some of them used their power to develop and control vice markets in their communities, and to enforce Prohibition unequally across race and class lines.
