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Prestige, Immunity and Diplomats: Understanding Sexual Corruption

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Elites, Institutions and the Quality of Government

Part of the book series: Executive Politics and Governance ((EXPOLGOV))

Abstract

Diplomacy is an institution of prestige and political weight. In a discussion of cabinet rankings, Krook and O’Brien (2011, p. 14) designate foreign affairs as an elite and high-prestige area as it offers individuals the potential for sustained “visibility and significant control over policy.” It is also an institution that has traditionally been populated by an elite political class – such as the nobility in Europe – which continues to provide diplomacy with an air of exclusivity. Diplomats thus occupy a position which carries considerable prestige and esteem, often more so than other public positions. Diplomacy is interesting for corruption research in other respects as well. To ensure that diplomacy functions even in situations of international enmity and competition, diplomats need to be shielded from politically motivated persecution and harassment by foreign states. Diplomats thus enjoy privileges of immunity from the host country’s laws and are not susceptible to prosecution unless diplomatic privileges are waived, which is very rare. Compared with other political elites analyzed in this volume, diplomats therefore enjoy more unchecked power and less accountability for criminal actions. While perhaps necessary, such protections can obviously be abused, turning immunity into impunity.

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Authors
  1. Ann Towns
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Gothenburg, Sweden

    Carl Dahlström (Professor) & Lena Wängnerud (Professor) (Professor) &  (Professor)

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© 2015 Ann Towns

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Towns, A. (2015). Prestige, Immunity and Diplomats: Understanding Sexual Corruption. In: Dahlström, C., Wängnerud, L. (eds) Elites, Institutions and the Quality of Government. Executive Politics and Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137556288_4

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