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Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. [1] For example, cronyism occurs when appointing "cronies" to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications. [2] This is in contrast to a meritocracy , in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, as doing favors to organizations, or giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places. [3]
The word crony first appeared in 17th-century London, according to the Oxford English Dictionary and is believed to be derived from the Greek word χρόνιος (chronios), meaning 'long term'. [4]
A less likely but oft-quoted source is the supposed Irish term Comh-Roghna, which translates as 'close pals, mutual friends'.[ citation needed ]
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Government officials are particularly susceptible to accusations of cronyism, as they spend taxpayers' money. Many democratic governments are encouraged to practice administrative transparency in accounting and contracting, however, there often is no clear delineation of when an appointment to government office is "cronyism". [5]
In the private sector, cronyism exists in organizations, often termed "the old boys' club" or "the golden circle"; again, the boundary between cronyism and "networking" is difficult to delineate. [6]
It is not unusual for politicians to surround themselves with highly qualified subordinates, and to develop social, business, or political friendships leading to the appointment to office of friends, likewise in granting government contracts. In fact, the counsel of such friends is why the officeholder successfully obtained their powerful position; therefore, cronyism usually is easier to perceive than to demonstrate and prove.[ citation needed ][ original research? ][ inconsistent ] Politicians with representatives of business, other special interests, as unions and professional organizations get "crony-business" done in political agreements, especially by "reasonable" and lucrative honorariums to the politician for making speeches, or by legal donations to one's election campaign or to one's political party, etc.[ citation needed ][ original research? ]
Cronyism describes relationships existing among mutual acquaintances in private organizations where business, business information, and social interaction are exchanged among influential personnel. This is termed crony capitalism, and is an ethical breach of the principles of the market economy; in advanced economies, crony capitalism is a breach of market regulations.
Given crony capitalism's nature, these dishonest business practices are frequently (yet not exclusively) found in societies with ineffective legal systems. Consequently, there is an impetus upon the legislative branch of a government to ensure enforcement of the legal code capable of addressing and redressing private party manipulation of the economy by the involved businessmen and their government cronies.
The economic and social costs of cronyism are paid by society. Those costs are in the form of reduced business opportunity for the majority of the population, reduced competition in the market place, inflated consumer goods prices, decreased economic performance, inefficient business investment cycles, reduced motivation in affected organizations, and the diminution of economically productive activity. [6] A practical cost of cronyism manifests in the poor workmanship of public and private community projects.
Cronyism is self-perpetuating; cronyism then begets a culture of cronyism. This can only be apprehended by a comprehensive, effective, and enforced legal code, with empowered government agencies which can effect prosecutions in the courts.
Some instances[ examples needed ] of cronyism are readily transparent. With others,[ examples needed ] it is only in hindsight that the qualifications of the alleged "crony" must be evaluated. All appointments that are suspected of being cronyism are controversial. The appointed party may choose to either suppress disquiet or ignore it, depending upon the society's level of freedom of expression and individual personal liberty.
An example can be found in political activity in South Carolina, particularly in relation to Governor Henry McMaster, who initially gained his position after becoming the first high-level state official to endorse a President and subsequently rose from lieutenant governor to governor of the state when the President appointed the ambassador to the United Nations in November 2016. [7] [8] On July 9, 2019, Governor McMaster would then go on to attempt to force a vote for the President of the University of South Carolina ahead of schedule and for the benefit of his favorite candidate, Robert Caslen Jr., former superintendent of West Point Academy who was favored by President and previously interviewed by the administration for the position of National Security Advisor. [9] [10] Less than two weeks later, in spite of protestation from a majority of the student body, alumni, and major donors, the vote was cast in favor of Caslen on July 19, 2019. [11]
The Russian president Vladimir Putin is alleged to be the "head of the clan", [12] whose assets are estimated at $200 billion. [13] [14] A list of Russian and Ukrainian politicians associated with "kleptocratic style" has been published by the Kleptocracy Archives project. [15]
U.S. president Donald Trump assigned at least five members of his private golf clubs to choice government jobs such as ambassadorships. This is the first time in modern history that a president has rewarded people with jobs that paid money to his own companies. [16]
The nominations of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the House of Lords were selected based on their support for his version of Brexit, rather than ability or service to the public as is customary (for instance, the previous Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow did not receive a nomination due to Johnson's perception that he worked against him for getting key Brexit votes through). [17] The process for procurement of government contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom has been criticised by some as a "chumocracy" (cronyism). [18] [19] [20]
In India, it has been seen that the chiefs of national political parties directly appoint their close aides as the regional subordinates rather than through the party's internal elections—thus undermining the autonomy of the state units. [21] The culture was first seen under the premiership of Indira Gandhi, [21] [22] then under her successor Sonia Gandhi, [23] and now under the Bharatiya Janata Party's Modi government. [24] [25] Over the years, several chief ministers of wide range of parties have been appointed likewise. [26] [27] [28]
Crony capitalism, sometimes also called simply cronyism, is a pejorative term used in political discourse to describe a situation in which businesses profit from a close relationship with state power, either through an anti-competitive regulatory environment, direct government largesse, and/or corruption. Examples given for crony capitalism include obtainment of permits, government grants, tax breaks, or other undue influence from businesses over the state's deployment of public goods, for example, mining concessions for primary commodities or contracts for public works. In other words, it is used to describe a situation where businesses thrive not as a result of free enterprise, but rather collusion between a business class and the political class.
A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually without the knowledge of those who are outside their group. The use of this term usually carries negative connotations of political purpose, conspiracy and secrecy. It can also refer to a secret plot or a clique, or it may be used as a verb.
Oligarchy is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control.
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Kleptocracy, also referred to as thievocracy, is a government whose corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) use political power to expropriate the wealth of the people and land they govern, typically by embezzling or misappropriating government funds at the expense of the wider population. One feature of political-based socioeconomic thievery is that there is often no public announcement explaining or apologizing for misappropriations, nor any legal charges or punishment levied against the offenders.
Nepotism is the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to: business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion, and health care. The term originated with the assignment of nephews to important positions by Catholic popes and bishops.
Russian oligarchs are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The failing Soviet state left the ownership of state assets contested, which allowed for informal deals with former USSR officials as a means to acquire state property.
Eric Frederick Trump is an American businessman, activist, and former reality television presenter. He is the third child and second son of Donald Trump, and his first wife, Ivana Trump.
The Fourth Philippine Republic, also known as the FourthRepublic of the Philippines, was established after Ferdinand Marcos won the 1981 Philippine presidential election and referendum. Marcos announced the beginning of the Fourth Republic on June 30, during his inauguration speech. On February 25, 1986, due to the People Power Revolution, Marcos ended into exile in Hawaii, and Corazon Aquino became the 11th president of the Philippines. The Fourth Republic would come to an end under Aquino's leadership, and the Fifth Republic would commence with the adoption of a new constitution.
A kakistocracy is a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens. The word was coined as early as the seventeenth century. Peter Bowler has noted in his book that there is no word for the government run by the best citizens, and that the aristarchy may be the right term, but still, it could conceivably be a kakistocracy disguised as an aristocracy.
Robert Louis Caslen Jr. is a retired United States Army officer who served as the 59th superintendent of West Point from 2013 until 2018 and as the 29th president of the University of South Carolina from July 2019 until May 2021. Between January and May 2019, Caslen was senior counsel to the president and interim chief financial officer at the University of Central Florida. On July 19, 2019, the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina elected him as the school's 29th president, a position he assumed on August 1, 2019. Caslen also served as HigherEchelon's Special Advisor on Executive Leadership and Character Development. He resigned as President at South Carolina on May 12, 2021.
Corruption is perceived as a significant problem in Russia, impacting various aspects of life, including the economy, business, public administration, law enforcement, healthcare, and education. The phenomenon of corruption is strongly established in the historical model of public governance, and attributed to general weakness of rule of law in the country. Transparency International stated in 2022, "Corruption is endemic in Russia" and assigned it the lowest score of any European country in their Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021. It has, under the regime of Vladimir Putin, been variously characterized as a kleptocracy, an oligarchy, and a plutocracy; owing to its crony capitalism economic system.
The Philippines suffers from widespread corruption, which developed during the Spanish colonial period. According to GAN Integrity's Philippines Corruption Report updated May 2020, the Philippines suffers from many incidents of corruption and crime in many aspects of civic life and in various sectors. Such corruption risks are rampant throughout the state's judicial system, police service, public services, land administration, and natural resources.
In politics, a mafia state or pakhanate is a state system where the government is tied with organized crime to the degree when government officials, the police, and/or military became a part of the criminal enterprise. According to US diplomats, the expression "mafia state" was coined by Alexander Litvinenko.
Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra is a Venezuelan politician and the son of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. He was appointed as Head of the Corps of Special Inspectors of the Presidency and Coordinator of the National Film School of Venezuela by his father. He was also elected by the PSUV party congress in 2014 to be the delegate of El Valle Capital District.
Conservatism in Hong Kong derives from the Chinese tradition of familism and Confucianism and was incorporated into the colonial government's policies by Governor Cecil Clementi in the 1920s in the wake of rising Marxism–Leninism and communism in general. The anti-communist sentiments continued after the Second World War when waves of Chinese refugees fled to the colony as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) swept across Mainland China in the renewed Chinese Civil War. At this time, Conservatives supported the Republic of China (ROC), and were pro–Kuomintang (KMT). After the de facto end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 when the ROC government fled to Taiwan and throughout the Cold War, Conservatives have also taken libertarian thoughts on economic policies.
Peter Hermann Wehner is an American writer and former speechwriter for the administrations of three Republican U.S. presidents. He is a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. Wehner is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, and the author of The Death of Politics.
Corruption in Chad is characterized by nepotism and cronyism. Chad received a score of 20 in the 2023 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Chad ranked 162nd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 11. For comparison with regional scores, the average score among sub-Saharan African countries was 33. The highest score in sub-Saharan Africa was 71 and the lowest score was 11.
Certain associates of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, historically referred to using the catchphrase "Marcos cronies", benefited from their friendship with Marcos – whether in terms of legal assistance, political favors, or facilitation of business monopolies, during his administration. Marcos critics, and the local and international press began referring to these individuals as "cronies" during the latter days of the Marcos dictatorship, and the Philippine government – especially the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) – continued using the term after the ouster of Marcos in 1986.
The Korean National Youth Association abbreviated as Jokcheong was a neo-fascist, extreme right-wing group founded on October 9, 1946 under the catchphrase 'national branch, national geography', and led by Lee Beom-seok. KNYA had an ideology that intersected fascism and resistance nationalism, which also embraced left-wing youth and was described as a "Third Way". KNYA's fascism was deeply related to Third-Worldism (제3세계주의), which rejected both First World 'capitalism' and Second World 'communism'.