Developing a Public Interest Response to State-Orchestrated Corruption

Law & Social Inquiry ◽

10.1017/lsi.2021.4 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

John Gillespie

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Empirical Study ◽

Public Interest ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Public Private Partnerships ◽

Abuse Of Power ◽

Legal Rules ◽

And Control ◽

The Way

As conventionally understood, anti-corruption programs rely on legal rules to define and control the abuse of official power for private gain. This study explores the limits to law-based standards of corruption where state officials obscure bribery and the abuse of power beneath a veneer of legality. Drawing on an empirical study of two public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Vietnam, it asks whether the failure of anti-corruption laws to curb malfeasance in PPPs is attributable to insufficient enforcement, to targeting the wrong behavior, or to both of these issues. It argues that if anti-corruption laws are blind to the opportunistic manipulation of laws in PPPs, then we must consider other ways of conceptualizing and controlling corruption. This argument links the way in which corruption is conceptualized to the efficacy of policy instruments used to curb corruption in PPPs. In particular, it examines whether public interest corruption provides a framework that makes malfeasance in PPPs visible and thus offers a mechanism for holding officials accountable. This study concludes that public interest corruption broadens the analysis of corruption in PPPs from transgressions of legal boundaries to an examination of public inclusion and exclusion from decision making.

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Co-operative decision making and team work in command and control: how can computers help and how do they get in the way?

10.1049/ic:19970758 ◽

1997 ◽

Author(s):

B.M.S. Jones

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Command And Control ◽

Team Work ◽

And Control ◽

The Way

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Corruption between public and private moralities: The Albanian case in a comparative perspective

Human Affairs ◽

10.2478/s13374-013-0119-3 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Giuliana Prato

Keyword(s):

Empirical Study ◽

Social Norms ◽

Moral Relativism ◽

Comparative Perspective ◽

Public And Private ◽

Cultural Traditions ◽

Legal Rules ◽

Political Situation ◽

The Social ◽

The Way

AbstractThis essay draws on comparative ethnographic material from Albania and Italy. It addresses different forms of corruption, arguing that in order to understand the way in which phenomena such as corruption occur and are experienced in any given society, we should contextualize them in the historical and cultural traditions of that specific society. In doing so, however, we should be alert in avoiding falling into the trap of either moral relativism or cultural determinism. The essay suggests that an anthropological analysis of corruption should distinguish between legal rules and social norms. In particular, the empirical study of such norms helps to understand the meanings—both individual and inter-subjective—that actors give to the social and political situation in which they operate.

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The Turf Conversation- Who Does What to Whom

The 2nd Digital Revolution ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-801-7.ch005 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 125-142

Author(s):

Stephen J. Andriole

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Technology Innovation ◽

Command And Control ◽

Organizational Structures ◽

Integrated Technology ◽

And Control ◽

The Way

Not too many controversial topics here. Here are the turf topics we’ll discuss: • Figure out how to neutralize the politics around turf: I have no magic here … it’s been going on since people began to congregate … but take it seriously because it undermines effectiveness. • Forget titles: you have to organize your companies to collaborate, support collaboration and enable it with integrated technology … you may or may not need “chiefs,” or “directors.” • Forget about consensus-based decision-making in flat management structures … forget about big teams. • Command and control works … even in decentralized organizations – which, by the way, I’m not that crazy about. • Innovation is special: make sure your organizational structures encourage business and technology innovation.

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La durabilité en foresterie: pour une transformation durable de l'action forestière | Sustainability in Forestry: For a Sustainable Transformation of Forestry-Related Actions

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2000.0522 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 151 (12) ◽

pp. 522-525

Author(s):

Jean-Pierre Sorg

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Public Participation ◽

Public Interest ◽

World Wide ◽

Forest Policy ◽

Theoretical Development ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

Practical Application ◽

Private Interests ◽

The Way

Forest policy is in the course of transformation on a world-wide level. Forest laws have been adapted to new circumstances and the organisation of forest services has often been profoundly revised. This renewal - based on various reasons - is in the trend of democracy, characterising today's society. The terms multifunctionality and sustainability have developed into keywords within lectures and discussions. Research shows new ways and means of development, however, modern concepts often show difficulties in becoming established in practice. Public participation in the decision-making process of the management of forest-related resources progresses only slowly. If the way from theoretical development to practical application is long, it seems only right that public interest is ranked higher than various private interests.

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Policy and institutional enablers of public–private partnerships in the electricity sector in Uganda: a multi-level and path dependence perspective

International Journal of Public Sector Management ◽

10.1108/ijpsm-01-2020-0026 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 51-70

Author(s):

Moses Onyoin ◽

Christopher Bovis

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Path Dependence ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Institutional Development ◽

Electricity Sector ◽

Public Private Partnerships ◽

Content Type ◽

Role Of The State ◽

The Status ◽

Path Dependent

PurposeThis paper explains the evident disproportionality in the levels of adoption of the modality of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in Uganda by tracing the peculiar preconditions and enablers of the model's relative high adoption in the electricity sector.Design/methodology/approachKey conceptual suggestions from historical institutionalism (HI), critical juncture and path dependence are used to orient the data collection and analysis. The direct experiences and perceptions of key informants involved in policy, regulation and operations in the electricity sector are thematically analyzed.FindingsThe primacy of specific policy, institutional decisions and actions sequentially undertaken at the international, national and sectorial levels in shaping the conceivability and possibility of PPP modality is foregrounded. In particular, international advisory for the changed role of the state and the government's subsequent decision to enact and reenact specific institutional frameworks at the national and sectorial levels created important disruptions to the status quo and paved a new and relatively stable institutional path conducive for private sector participation.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, the paper demonstrates the ability and power of HI to support the exploration and framing of multilevel and path-dependent explanations of institutional development and policy adoption. Practically, suggestions in terms of policy, legal and regulatory enablers for the adoption of PPP are made to shape practitioners' decision-makingPractical implicationsPractically, suggestions in terms of policy, legal and regulatory enablers for the adoption of PPP are made to shape practitioners' decision-making.Originality/valueThe importance of considering factor combinations and sequences in explaining the emergence, adoption and proliferation of public policy instruments and phenomena is underscored. In addition, the discourse on PPPs is moved beyond rationalization on how to even out their adoption (and subsequently the associated benefits) across sectors.

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Administrative Discretion and the Rule of Law

The Machinery of Government ◽

10.1093/oso/9780197509616.003.0006 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 254-299

Author(s):

Joseph Heath

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Empirical Study ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Executive Branch ◽

Democratic Legitimacy ◽

Administrative Discretion ◽

Public Officials ◽

Abuse Of Power ◽

The Rule Of Law

Empirical study of administrative decision-making shows that the power exercised by public officials is only loosely controlled by statutory law. Political theorists have traditionally viewed this discretion quite negatively, as a violation either of the rule of law or the principle of democratic legitimacy. This chapter presents a defense of administrative discretion, on the grounds that it is not just inevitable; it makes an important contribution to the quality of public administration. Both legislative and judicial strategies to reduce administrative discretion have failed or had perverse consequences. The best approach to reducing the potential for abuse of power has been through the development of a “rule of law” culture within the executive branch.

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Our Informationally Disabled Courts

Daedalus ◽

10.1162/daed_a_00292 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 143 (3) ◽

pp. 105-114

Author(s):

Frederick Schauer

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Financial Information ◽

Factual Information ◽

Legal Rules ◽

The World ◽

Rules And Principles ◽

Scientific Technical ◽

Public Decision ◽

Public Decision Making ◽

The Way

In order to carry out their functions of deciding particular cases and developing legal rules and principles, courts need information: not just information about the law, but also factual information about the particular matter in controversy and about the world in general. The way in which courts are structured, however, makes it more difficult for them to obtain the information they need than it is for most other public decision-making institutions. As the world becomes more complex, and as sophisticated scientific, technical, and financial information becomes more central to litigation and to the judicial function, the systemic disabilities of the courts in obtaining the information they need become more apparent and increasingly more problematic.

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