Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone

Reno, William

doi:10.5771/0506-7286-1998-1-103

Cited by 69 publications

(91 citation statements)

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“…In fact, emphasis on formal aspects may simply push cronyism deeper into informal social networks that are harder to reach and regulate. For example, Reno (1995) reported that Western governments and the World Bank failed to grasp the dynamics of power in Sierra Leone. Fixed on institutional reform, they did not see the real power wielded through informal political and market networks.…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 97%

Networks and cronyism: A social exchange analysis

2009

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Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 97%

Networks and cronyism: A social exchange analysis

2009

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“…Characteristic of patrimonial states are, on the one hand, highly personalised rule (wherein the state and its ruler become synonymous), and, on the other hand, the indistinction between public and private resources ([10]: 700; [53]: 34). The acquisition of public goods as personal wealth by patrimonial leaders, however, is a political resource operating in what William Reno names the "shadow state" [50,51]. In the period following independence from Britain, a clandestine trade in diamonds flourished as key plank of the patrimonial system, starving the state while feeding the shadow state ([53]: 41; [10]: 708; [50]: 92-97).…”

Section: Addressing the Recruitmentioning

confidence: 98%

Child soldiers and distributive justice: addressing the limits of law?

Park

2010

Crime Law Soc Change

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This paper discusses the limitations of legal responses to the problem of child soldiery, beginning from the premise that the crime of using child soldiers is comprised of both the recruiter and the recruit. While legal approaches are addressed to the recruiter, because of the dearth of enforcement mechanisms, the protections established in international law have failed to prevent the recruitment of under-aged combatants. It remains to be seen how efficacious a deterrent the precedent-setting recent and on-going prosecutions of recruiters will be. Nonetheless, legal approaches do not address the recruit, and thus they fail to account for the complex of social reasons that prompt many children to join armed groups "voluntarily". This paper argues that the conditions that lead children to join armed groups are structural and, thus, must be addressed structurally through developing greater "distributive justice".

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“…For a time Sierra Leone became a scene of coup and countercoup in which Israel, South Africa, Iran, and the U.S. manipulated clients. 58 For De Beers the problems were complicated by developments in other alluvial producers whose rising output threatened the system by which it had long controlled the market [35].…”

Section: The Geopolitics Of Gemstonesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…35 Although Thai companies quickly secured exclusive rights to Vietnam's underground mining, independent miners operate in alluvial fields. While they are supposed to sell their output to the government, they turn over the poorest, the best transiting Cambodia where ex-guerrillas, moonlighting army units and corrupt officials demand appropriate compensation, en route to Thailand.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a further deterrent, Thai owners allegedly placed synthetic stones in the mines to ruin the reputations of thieves among black- 34 Information supplied in confidence. 35 Naturally bubbly gemologists breathlessly called them "the richest ruby deposit found this century anywhere in the world!" (Far Eastern Economic Review 9/5/91) That is also an accolade conferred a short time before on Mong Hsu in Burma, Pailin in Cambodia and a major find in Kenya.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The underworld of gemstones

Naylor

2009

Crime Law Soc Change

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In recent decades prices of high-end "colored gemstones" (trade jargon for precious stones other than diamonds), like almost all "collectibles," have risen dramatically. Demand has been spreading to economic classes formerly excluded at the same time the supply of high-quality material from natural sources falls, leading to constant searches (that may take on the character of gold-rushes) for as yet undiscovered sites. While no doubt criminogenic factors have always existed within the gemstone business, periods of rapid price rise mean stronger temptation for illegal activities. The potential list of economic offenses, civil, regulatory and criminal, associated with the gemstones business includes: illegal mining, environmental offenses, bribery, gun-running, smuggling, "terrorist"(i.e. insurgent) financing, commercial fraud, mining-share swindles, money laundering and, not least, simple theft along with recycling stolen goods. This paper represents an attempt to understand the criminogenic factors in light of the history and current structures of the business. It fits the gemstone trade into a commercial, geo-strategic and sociological matrix, the three often interacting in mutually reinforcing ways. It asks whether, given the incentives and opportunities for illicit activity, relying primarily on industry selfregulation makes sense. But it also questions whether the international regulatory regime now in place for diamonds can be applied to the far more diffuse supply-side conditions of the colored gemstone market. Methodologically, the paper is a research essay in the political economy of clandestine international economic activity, with particular focus on its historical, geo-strategic and sociological context rather than a more narrow, traditional criminological study. The second may work well enough when the activity under investigation is a crime per se, as with studies of illegal drugs. However when the activity is inherently legal, but conducted illegally, it is essential to understand Crime Law Soc Change (2010) 53:131-158

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Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone

Cited by 69 publications

References 0 publications

Networks and cronyism: A social exchange analysis

Networks and cronyism: A social exchange analysis

Child soldiers and distributive justice: addressing the limits of law?

The underworld of gemstones

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