Corruptive Patterns of Patronage

Abstract

The collapse of the totalitarian regimes on the Balkans (Romania, Bulgaria, ex Yugoslavia, Albania) challenged immensely the old system of state-party patronage and its patron-client relations. They had to re-define in the framework of a chaotically shaping market environment and new power dependences. We could brief here the following more significant shifts: from militant (quasi —institutional) —to quango types of patronage; from old party monopolist —to free market (political) organizations; from state controlled church (es) —to liberalization of religious life; from old party bureaucracy (nomenclature) —to its decentralization etc. These structural changes have also influenced the old type of cadre loyalties. The latter flew into the mainstream of some instrumental pragmatism: looser dependence on the state, less even to its frustrated institutions,“alternative”patronage of the emerging new corporative structures, or independent small and family businesses.

Quango-patronages (quasi–NGO) are defined as:“unhealthy patronage not only in the honours system, but also in the appointments to quangos, non-elected bodies that are taking over more and more of the roles of local government.”Tony Wright presented his extensive research on the abuse of patronage in a written submission to the Nolan Committee (Written submission, 11 January 1995).“There are now 5,521 executive quangos (alone in UK) responsible for almost a third of all government spending centrally. Examples are the Health Education Authority which until recently had an annual budget in excess of 16 million, or the Forestry Commission, or the Arts Council. They are not properly accountable to the public, and some appear to have fallen far short of acceptable standards.”See: The Power of Patronage, http://www.globalchange.com