Corruption in Britain c.1550-1850

1550-1850 年英国的腐败

• 批准号: AH/L014912/1
• 负责人: Mark Knights
• 金额: $ 15.93万
• 依托单位: University of Warwick
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2014 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FL014912%2F1
• 关键词: Corruption; Britain; c.1550; 1850

My project is to write the history of corruption in pre-modern Britain, from the sixteenth century Reformation to nineteenth century Reform. The resulting monograph (I would aim to have half of it completed within the AHRC funded period) will be the first such overview. Whereas most analyses of corruption are made by political scientists or economists who focus almost exclusively on the modern or contemporary world, my work will add an important and neglected historical perspective. In late sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain anxieties about corruption were pervasive. Political, economic, religious, moral, sexual, imperial and linguistic corruption intertwined to form a wide-ranging and contested concept. Examining this concept over three centuries enables me to demonstrate the shift, in practice as well as discourse, from a predominantly religious notion (corruption as sin) to a predominantly political and financial one that is recognisably modern. The book will outline ten key processes leading to this change. First, the Protestant reformation shaped perceptions of catholic corruption but also of clerical worldliness in the Church of England. Second, campaigns for moral reform resulted in ethical frameworks that challenged and re-interpreted accepted behaviours as corrupt. Third, the rise of the fiscal-military state made tempting and unprecedented amounts of resources (money and offices) available; fourth, the acquisition of an empire resulted in a confrontation with different cultures and a sense that imperialism was profitable but also corrupting of the mother country. Fifth, changes in attitudes to gift-giving, patronage, friendship and office-holding shaped changing definitions of what constituted corrupt behaviour. Sixth, the rise of the press made it easier both to expose corruption (often linking fiscal, political and sexual scandal) but also to use the allegation of corruption as a tool against rivals and enemies. Seventh, attacking corruption became an important creative force for literature and visual culture. Eighth, evolving attitudes about the relationship between self-interest, luxury and wealth led to a growing confidence in market forces as regulators of economic behaviour. Ninth, partisan rivalry and social change put pressure on an antiquated electoral system perceived as corrupt. Tenth, social antagonisms sharpened a sense of an oppressive 'system' of corruption and of moral inadequacy, both in the aristocracy and the lower sorts.My project thus relates the rise and reform of corruption to fundamental changes in the state, religion, economy, culture and society but, importantly, also examines how perceptions, discourses and definitions of corruption were frequently contested: corruption was often in the eye of the beholder.My aim is to restore a historical dimension to current debates and contribute to an interdisciplinary discussion that involves political scientists, economists, and scholars of literature and the media. Although this will be an academic study it will also be of interest to a wider public. Debates about the proper boundaries of patronage, kinship, friendship networks, rewards and gift-giving persist today and there is widespread concern, both in the developed and developing world, about the abuse of office and status. Indeed, corruption is one of the most pressing of contemporary issues, both in the UK and in Asia, Russia, China, South America and elsewhere. An intrinsic part of the project is thus to make the history of corruption available to the public, both through a monograph that is written in an accessible style but also through a policy-oriented publication for the leading anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International, which will publish a summary of my research findings. Research leadership activity will also include working with a radio and TV producer.

我的课题是写前现代英国的腐败史，从16世纪的宗教改革到19世纪的宗教改革。由此产生的专著（我的目标是在AHRC资助期间完成一半）将是第一个这样的概述。大多数对腐败的分析都是由政治学家或经济学家进行的，他们几乎只关注现代或当代世界，而我的工作将增加一个重要的、被忽视的历史视角。在16世纪末，17世纪，18世纪和19世纪初，英国对腐败的担忧普遍存在。政治、经济、宗教、道德、性、帝国和语言的腐败交织在一起，形成了一个广泛而有争议的概念。在三个世纪的时间里考察这个概念，使我能够证明在实践和话语中，从一个主要的宗教概念（腐败是罪）到一个主要的政治和金融概念的转变，这是一个公认的现代概念。本书将概述导致这种变化的十个关键过程。首先，新教改革塑造了人们对天主教腐败的看法，同时也塑造了英国国教神职人员世俗主义的看法。其次，道德改革运动产生了道德框架，挑战并重新解释了被接受的行为是腐败的。第三，财政-军事国家的兴起使得诱人的、前所未有的资源（金钱和职位）唾手可得；第四，帝国的获得导致了与不同文化的对抗，以及一种帝国主义是有利可图的，但也会腐蚀母国的感觉。第五，对送礼、赞助、友谊和任职态度的变化，影响了对腐败行为定义的变化。第六，媒体的兴起使得揭露腐败（通常将财政、政治和性丑闻联系在一起）变得更加容易，也使得对腐败的指控成为对付对手和敌人的工具。第七，反腐倡廉成为文学和视觉文化创作的重要力量。第八，对自身利益、奢侈品和财富之间关系的态度不断演变，导致人们越来越相信市场力量是经济行为的监管者。第九，党派之争和社会变革给被视为腐败的陈旧选举制度带来了压力。第十，社会对立加剧了贵族和下层阶级对腐败和道德缺失的压迫性“制度”的感觉。因此，我的项目将腐败的兴起和改革与国家、宗教、经济、文化和社会的根本变化联系起来，但更重要的是，我还研究了对腐败的看法、话语和定义是如何经常受到争议的：腐败往往是在旁观者的眼中。我的目标是恢复当前辩论的历史维度，并为涉及政治学家、经济学家、文学和媒体学者的跨学科讨论做出贡献。虽然这将是一项学术研究，但它也将引起更广泛的公众的兴趣。关于赞助、亲属关系、友谊网络、奖励和送礼的适当界限的争论一直持续到今天，无论是在发达国家还是发展中国家，人们都普遍担心滥用职权和地位。的确，腐败是当代最紧迫的问题之一，无论是在英国，还是在亚洲、俄罗斯、中国、南美和其他地方。因此，该项目的一个内在部分是让公众了解腐败的历史，既可以通过以通俗易懂的风格撰写的专著，也可以通过为领先的反腐败组织“透明国际”（Transparency International）出版以政策为导向的出版物，该出版物将发表我的研究成果摘要。研究领导活动还将包括与广播和电视制作人合作。

项目成果

Popular Culture and Political Agency in Early Modern Britain

现代早期英国的流行文化和政治机构

• 发表时间: 2017
• 作者: Knights, M J

Trust and Distrust - Corruption in Office in Britain and its Empire, 1600-1850

信任与不信任——英国及其帝国的办公室腐败，1600 年至 1850 年

• DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198796244.001.0001
• 发表时间: 2021
• 作者: Knights M

The History of Anti-Corruption

反腐败的历史

• 发表时间: 2017
• 作者: Knights, M J

Corruption, Social Sciences and the Law

腐败、社会科学和法律

• 发表时间: 2019
• 作者: Knights, MJ

The State Trials and the Politics of Justice in Later Stuart Britain

斯图亚特王朝后期英国的国家审判和正义政治

• 发表时间: 2020
• 作者: KNIGHTS M J