Testable Hypothesis; Corruption; Patron-Client Politics
Recent reports from Nigeria and China (and entries here - see "Corruption and Transparency and Politics," "Nigerian Politics," and "Guanxi: Patron-Client Politics in China") suggest that anti-corruption campaigns often seem to target corrupt political opponents more often than corrupt political allies. Is this also true in Mexico, the UK, Russia, and Iran? Can your students test the validity of the generalization (hypothesis)? How would they do that? (I'd send them to Patrick O'Niel's book Essentials of Comparative Politics or Timothy Lim's Doing Comparative Politics for hints about methodology.)Here's the latest example as reported by the New York Times, the BBC, and the Guardian (UK).
Shanghai Party Boss Held for Corruption
"Chinese security officers have detained the powerful party boss of Shanghai for corruption, as President Hu Jintao expands a crackdown on graft that has focused on prominent political opponents.
"Chen Liangyu (at left below), the Communist Party’s top official in the wealthy East Coast enclave and a member of the ruling Politburo, was formally detained on Sunday afternoon, Chinese state media confirmed Monday afternoon.
"It is exceedingly rare in China for members of the ruling Politburo to face legal trouble, even when the authorities have evidence of corrupt activities by them or people close to them. Mr. Hu almost certainly would not have approved of the action unless he considered Mr. Chen an obstacle to his political control or his policy agenda.
"The action seems intended mainly to reduce local resistance to edicts by Mr. Hu and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, while also smashing the remnants of the political clique that had been tied more closely to Jiang Zemin, China’s former paramount leader, than to Mr. Hu.
"Mr. Hu is seeking to reshuffle the members of the Politburo and all the leading government and provincial posts at the 17th Party Congress to be held next year. He has sought to extinguish opposition to his priorities among senior party members ahead of that event and to anoint his own successor.
"Mr. Chen’s political machine has long been considered one of the strongest and most corrupt in a country...
"Some party officials acknowledge that it is rare for officials in China to climb the political ladder without quietly securing economic benefits for themselves or their friends and relatives. The party-run security apparatus usually does not seek to stop such behavior unless the officials in question fall from political favor, they say."
Here's a link to the BBC report on Chen's "arrest" Top China leader fired for graft
and a link to
Power play brings down Shanghai boss,
an analysis article from Quentin Sommerville , BBC reporter in Shanghai.
and a link to
The Guardian (UK) report that Mr. Chen has disappeared from China's Internet as well.
"Earlier today, Chinese state media announced the dismissal of Chen Liangyu, the Communist party boss - and thus leader - of the eastern commercial metropolis of Shanghai.
"Mr Chen, seen by some pundits as a potential rival to President Hu Jintao, was also removed from the party's powerful central politburo for alleged corruption, the Xinhua news agenc y reported.
"Within moments, according to Reuters, every trace of Mr Chen also disappeared completely from the city government's website.
"All Mr Chen's speeches since taking over as Shanghai boss nearly four years ago were excised from the archives, photographs including him were replaced and a search for his name in the site's search engine brought up an error message..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 12:05 PM
2 Comments:
For more details on the politics of anti-corruption in China, you and your students can look to Wu Zhong's article from Asia Times Online.
Out from under Jiang's shadow
"About one year ahead of the all-important 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, President Hu Jintao is deftly making political moves to strengthen his power and authority, walking out of the shadow of his predecessor, Jiang Zemin...
"Shanghai had been Jiang's power base... Jiang favored Shanghai so much that it was said that China was ruled by the 'Shanghai Gang'...
"During his early years as party leader, it could be said that Hu had been working... under the shadow of his predecessor...Therefore, the party's 17th National Congress is widely seen as a good opportunity for Hu to walk out of Jiang's shadow by claiming full control of party, government and military affairs...
"So, with considerable deftness, Hu began began to lay the political groundwork. In early August, the three-volume Selected Articles of Jiang Zemin was officially published...
"It should be noted that the three-volume Selected Articles by Deng Xiaoping was also officially published shortly before the late paramount leader went into full retirement...
"The second part of Hu's current political maneuver is to reshuffle minister-level officials... [He could] appoint officials he trusts to important posts in the party and government. Hu started his political career working for the Chinese Communist Youth League and became the head of the league in the early 1980s. Because of such a background, it is said he inclines to promote those officials who used to work as cadres of the Communist Youth League.
"According to the early-August issue of the Hong Kong-based, China-watching Wide Angle magazine, 11 of the current 31 provincial Communist Party chiefs are former league cadres, and one-third of the governors of the 31 provinces also once worked as league officials. In the central government, nine of the 28 ministries under the State Council are now headed by former Communist Youth League cadres...
"The last, but probably the most striking, of Hu's political maneuvers is to strengthen the crackdown on official corruption... Monday's announcement of the removal of Chen as Shanghai party chief marks the climax of the maneuver. Political analysts say the removal of Chen could be a way of killing three birds with one stone, which fully demonstrates Hu's political adroitness.
"Firstly, sacking Chen deals the 'Shanghai Gang' a heavy blow...
"Second, the dismissal of Chen serves as a stern warning to officials, regional officials in particular, that they had better toe the line of the central leadership headed by Hu...
"Finally, Chen's removal demonstrates to the public the determination and courage of the leadership headed by Hu in the arduous fight against official corruption, which is one of the major sources of public discontent in the country.
"Jiang launched a nationwide crackdown on official corruption in 1998. But under his rule and his continued influence after his retirement, not one ranking official in Shanghai has been included in the almost two-decade-old campaign...
"Now it can be said that a self-confident Hu Jintao will have his final say in the major leadership next year. In this sense, the 17th Party Congress in late 2007 will open a genuine Hu era."
The latest in the politics of anti-corruption comes from this BBC report from Nigeria.
Senate to probe Obasanjo deputy
"Nigeria's Senate has voted unanimously to investigate allegations of fraud in a fund managed by the country's vice-president, Atiku Abubakar.
"Two weeks ago, President Olusegun Obasanjo released a report accusing Mr Abubakar of appropriating millions of dollars from the fund...
"The vice-president is seeking the nomination of the governing People's Democratic Party (PDP) but sees himself as the target of a political conspiracy to exact revenge, and to clear the path for a presidential contender more amenable to Mr Obasanjo..."
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