The Intensification of Corruption in China

2004 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 895-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wederman

Although most analysts agree that corruption has worsened since the advent of reform, this article argues that whereas the first stages of reform witnessed a quantitative increase in corruption, during the 1990s corruption underwent a qualitative change as high-level, high-stakes corruption increased more rapidly than other forms of official malfeasance. Drawing together data from the Party discipline inspection system, the state supervisory system and the judicial procuratorial system, the article examines in detail trends in forms of official misconduct broadly defined and corruption more narrowly defined as the use of public authority for private gain, charting not only overall trends in malfeasance and corruption but also trends in the number of “major cases,” cases involving senior cadres, and the amounts of corrupt monies. Its finding that corruption has intensified raises important questions about the efficacy of enforcement, the link between the deepening of reform and the intensification of corruption, and the economic consequences of intensification.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-43
Author(s):  
Vladimir Petukhov

The author applies to the sociological data of the Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS to study the ideological and political preferences of the contemporary Russians and their ideas about value orientations in the 21st century. Stressing rather high level of depolitization of the state contemporary socio-political life to identify the citizens’ preferences the author used the method of associative reflection of the words and phrases that are mostly often using in contemporary Russia’s ideological discourse. So, the author outlined a circle of the concepts, that are significant for the contemporary Russia’s socio-political base and the state development. The author identified three basic dispositions, that are using by the respondents to evaluate politically loaded concepts and the ideologies, that are close to them. The first is almost complete neutrality to the most concepts proposed for assessment. The second one is predominantly positive assessment of the most of them. And thirdly it is clear division of concepts into positively and negatively assessed. The first two dispositions correspond towards 60% of all respondents, these are ideologically undecided respondents. The last disposition characterizes two roughly comparable value attitudes (the “traditionalistic” and the “liberal” ones) and include the respondents with clear ideological political attitudes (40% among all respondents). The author also analyses the main value orientations and social and demographical characteristics of the social groups with different ideological and political preferences. Its not-ed that the “Soviet” discourse is gradually shifting from the sphere of ideological confrontation into the sphere of morality. One can also see the idealization by the Russia’s public opinion of a “Soviet person” concept and attributing to it of the special qualities that, according to most respondents, are absent in the current Russians. The author notes that the project based on the ideas of justice and democracy is the most prospective variant of the future Russia’s value orientations. Such a project meets the expectations of many Russians, especially of young people, for changes that involve not only improving of the material living conditions, but also could minimize various inequalities and expand the opportunities for individual self-realization and political participation. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic consequences could rise a new wave of authoritarian sentiments based on the ideas of state greatness, the return totraditional values and the need for a “strong hand”. As the sociological data demonstrates these ideas are supported not only by the traditionalistically oriented citizens but also by about the third part of the ideologically undecided respondents.


2006 ◽  
pp. 87-96
Author(s):  
Yu. Shvetsov

The article considers the problem of bureaucratisation of the state and the most important social and economic consequences of this phenomenon. The essence of bureaucracy has been revealed, characteristic features of its functioning in Russia have been analyzed; the material base of bureaucracy and its dominating status in the society have been substantiated. The conclusion has been made that the process of changing the role of the budget to serve the interests of bureaucracy is being accomplished.


Author(s):  
Konstantin Kupchenko ◽  
Nikolay Fedoskin

The article analyzes the results of the state policy implementation withing the formation and development of the Soviet judicial system on the example of Smolensk Governoral Court. The authors set the goal, based on the analysis of sources not introduced into a wide scientific circulation, primarily stored at the State Archive of the Smolensk Region to restore the history of the creation and operation of justice institutions in the Smolensk region in the 1918s–1923s. The source base of the study was composed of documents stored at Smolensk State Regional Archive, materials on the history of the judiciary, statistical materials of the period under the study, documents on the history of the party-state bodies of the Smolensk region. The article studies current office documentation of both the higher and regional state bodies (Workers 'and Peasants' Government, People's Commissariat of Justice, Smolensk Governoral Executive Committee) and local authorities (Smolensk Council of Working People's Deputies, Executive Committee of Smolensk Governoral Council of Workers, Peasants' and Red Army Deputies), as well as Smolensk Governoral Court. The authors analyze the Soviet experience in the formation and development of judicial bodies under specific historical conditions; they consider transformations in the judicial system of the Smolensk Governorate in the 1917s–1922s, as well as the formation of Smolensk Governoral Court. The article studies legal foundations of the Soviet judicial system formation, characterizes processes of creating a judicial apparatus in the first years of Soviet power and analyzes activities of Smolensk Governoral Court during its formation. The authors reveal the essence, degree of efficiency, concrete results, political and socio-economic consequences, positive and negative lessons from the Soviet judicial system existed in Russia. The authors assume that the development of new legislation system in the 1920s was caused by the need to reform legal sources as the main means of socialism building. The authors conclude that the transformation of the Soviet judicial system completed the transition from the principle of «revolutionary expediency» to the principle of «revolutionary legality».


Author(s):  
Дмитрий Рубвальтер ◽  
Dmitry Rubvalter ◽  
Александр Либкинд ◽  
Alexander Libkind ◽  
Валентина Маркусова ◽  
...  

A multidimensional analysis of the state of Russian studies on the education issues over 1993–2016 was carried out based on the materials of the data contained in the Web of Science (SSCI, A & HCI and SCI-E databases). There were determined the dynamics and trends of a number of relevant indicators, such as the number of Russian publications by year, the share of these publications in the global flow of publications on education issues, the dynamics of the share of publications made in co-authorship with foreign colleagues, etc. A number of distributions of Russian publications on educational issues was compiled and analyzed: by journals, by Russian regions and cities, by organizations and authors of the publications. It was found that most of these distributions were characterized by a high level of non-uniformity. A list of journals (125 titles) in which Russian works on education issues had been published was compiled. Russian organizations (308) and domestic researchers (about two thousand) engaged in studying the issues of education were identified. It was discovered that more than 200 organizations and about 400 academicians from 60 foreign countries had participated in Russian studies on the education issues.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136548022110247
Author(s):  
Jude Brady ◽  
Elaine Wilson

Teaching is understood to be a highly stressful profession. In England, workload, high-stakes accountability policies and pupil behaviour are often cited as stressors that contribute to teachers’ decisions to leave posts in the state-funded sector. Many of these teachers leave state teaching to take jobs in private schools, but very little is known about the nature of teachers’ work in the private sector. This research addresses this gap in knowledge and compares the sources of stress experienced by 20 teachers in the state sector to those of 20 teachers in the private sector. The paper is based on qualitative data from a larger study. It analyses data collected in interviews and focus groups with classroom teachers and middle leaders working in mainstream primary and secondary phase education in England. The results emphasise state school teachers’ acute distress in relation to workloads driven by accountability cultures. In comparison, private school teachers report less intense experiences of work-related stress, but some identify demanding parents as a concern. The research’s novelty lies in this comparison between sectors and these sector specific insights may help to focus school leaders’ efforts to improve teaching conditions in both sectors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Valentini

Principles of distributive justice bind macro-level institutional agents, like the state. But what does justice require in non-ideal circumstances, where institutional agents are unjust or do not exist in the first place? Many answer by invoking Rawls's natural duty ‘to further just arrangements not yet established’, treating it as a ‘normative bridge’ between institutional demands of distributive justice and individual responsibilities in non-ideal circumstances. I argue that this response strategy is unsuccessful. I show that the more unjust the status quo is due to non-compliance, the less demanding the natural duty of justice becomes. I conclude that, in non-ideal circumstances, the bulk of the normative work is done by another natural duty: that of beneficence. This conclusion has significant implications for how we conceptualize our political responsibilities in non-ideal circumstances, and cautions us against the tendency – common in contemporary political theory – to answer all high-stakes normative questions under the rubric of justice.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Süleyman Polat

At the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries the Celali revolts resulted in wide-scale destruction throughout the entire Anatolian region. While research has been done on the general effects of this destruction, in-depth work investigating the economic consequences of the Celali revolts based on extant economic data has yet to be undertaken. Using archival material it is, however, possible to show the economic effects of these revolts. Taking the fall in tax collected by the state from the population as a result of the Celali revolts, this article aims to show how these revolts affected the economic structure of the state. By comparing the levels of avarız taxes collected before and after the revolts, and by trying to establish the levels of tax set according to the tax unit, the avarız hanes, the article thus sets out the economic impact the revolts had in Anatolia.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fennell

High rates of desertion and surrender during the battles in North Africa in the summer of 1942 were a major factor in Eighth Army’s poor combat performance. At the time, some suggested that these problems were symptomatic of a lack of courage or even of cowardice. There are two broad strands to the conceptualization of courage and cowardice. One focuses on the willingness of the person to fight; the other puts emphasis on how actions express an individual’s ability to cope with fear. Whichever conceptualization is used, high morale motivates the soldier to fight and shields the ordinary recruit from his fear, preventing it from overcoming him in battle. Where morale fails, the soldier is left demotivated and burdened with his terror and, therefore, and is therefore prone to desertion or surrender. Because it is extremely difficult to maintain morale at a continuously high level in an environment governed by chance and managed by humans, all soldiers can find themselves in situations where their actions may be judged as cowardly. Alternatively, if they are properly motivated to fight and prepared by the state and military to deal with the unavoidable fear of combat, all soldiers can be labelled courageous. Accordingly, emotive terms should be avoided when attempting to describe rationally explainable outcomes. The undoubtedly negative connotations attached to cowardice in battle and the positive ones attached to courage are, therefore, arguably unhelpful in understanding Eighth Army’s performance in the summer of 1942 and the human dimension in warfare more generally.


2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 110-118
Author(s):  
M. Shkurat ◽  
K. Pavlotska

Analysis of the migration process of the Ukrainian population, which takes place within the state and at the international level during 2014–2019 is carried out in this paper. On the basis of scientific works of domestic scientists and institutes the problems which have not been investigated, and also aspects which have been solved partially are defined. The negative consequences of the Ukrainian migration process on the state of the country are identified. The classification of migration flows of the Ukrainian population according to the reasons of movement is carried out. The main regions and countries which, as of the beginning of 2021, are more attractive to compatriots and are characterized by significant influxes of Ukrainians are identified. The main centers of departure – regions and countries – which are characterized by high level of outflow of Ukrainians are determined, the main problems and reasons that motivate the outflow of Ukrainians are highlighted in this paper. The level of growth of the Ukrainian population in terms of migration flows is defined. The investigation of Ukrainian diasporas, territorial location and analysis of their share in comparison is carried out. The main factors that force the Ukrainian population to move, which affects the demographic situation in Ukraine, the level of employment, as well as the amount of cash flows to the country and the state of the economy as a whole are identified. The main regulations and identified solutions to the migration flows of the domestic population, which were approved and implemented in the period from 2001 to 2019 are compared in this paper. On the basis of current and newly introduced strategies, critical analysis of the ways of regulating the migration process of the Ukrainian population is carried out, the main aspects and problems of the implemented migration policy of Ukraine are determined. The results of the work are to identify the main ways to reduce the negative impact of the migration process on the country's economy and related processes, and strategies to benefit from the movement of citizens of Ukraine, namely: introduction of intellectual security, revision of wages by region, stimulating the process of attracting technology in all spheres of activity and formation of the social protection system.


2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Louise I. Shelley

The murder of Valentin Tsvetkov, the governor of Magadan in central Moscow in broad day light in October 2002 highlights that organized crime and corruption are still alive and well and highly destructive of life and governance in Russia (Wines, 2002). His murder once again raises the question, “Why has Russia not been able to stop organized crime and high level corruption?” The answer is that Russia docs not have the political will at the national, regional or local level to fight these problems. This is true because the Kremlin and economic elite push their personal interests over those of the state and the society. Structural problems such as low salaries of state personnel and the embedding of organized crime and corruption make reform very difficult.


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