Twisted Transfers as Corruption
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Filippo Carlà-Uhink
Abstract
Corruption is an elusive concept, in which legal and juridical aspects coexist with a moral evaluation, and which is generally deployed in othering and character assassination. This chapter, an introduction to the volume, argues that historical research on corruption should not only concentrate on investigating political corruption and anti-corruption measures, but also focus on how corruption is constructed and represented in discourse. Starting from a definition of corruption as ‘twisted transfers’, this chapter analyses as a case study Cicero’s trial speeches to show how ‘corruption’ is presented, used and ‘functionalized’ - and questions whether the abundant references to corruption in the late republic should be understood as signs of widespread corrupt practices.
Abstract
Corruption is an elusive concept, in which legal and juridical aspects coexist with a moral evaluation, and which is generally deployed in othering and character assassination. This chapter, an introduction to the volume, argues that historical research on corruption should not only concentrate on investigating political corruption and anti-corruption measures, but also focus on how corruption is constructed and represented in discourse. Starting from a definition of corruption as ‘twisted transfers’, this chapter analyses as a case study Cicero’s trial speeches to show how ‘corruption’ is presented, used and ‘functionalized’ - and questions whether the abundant references to corruption in the late republic should be understood as signs of widespread corrupt practices.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Preface VII
-
Part 1: The Discourse(s) of and on Corruption
- Twisted Transfers as Corruption 1
- The Corrupted Speak 47
- Civil War and the Corruption of liberalitas in Tacitus’ Histories 65
- Irreversible Corruption 83
-
Part 2: Corruption in Social Practice and Daily Life
- Creating Evidence for Corruption 111
- Corruption in Greco-Roman Egypt 129
- Ideas of Corruption in Roman Imperial Ports 145
- Suspect Inheritances 167
- Salvian and the Corrupted Church of Southern Gaul 199
-
Part 3: The Politics and Diplomacy of Corruption
- Corruption and Anti-Corruption 223
- Beyond Crime 257
- Usurpation of (and Corruption Involving) the Right of Roman Citizenship in the Republic 287
- Balkan Promises 307
- Index 335
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Preface VII
-
Part 1: The Discourse(s) of and on Corruption
- Twisted Transfers as Corruption 1
- The Corrupted Speak 47
- Civil War and the Corruption of liberalitas in Tacitus’ Histories 65
- Irreversible Corruption 83
-
Part 2: Corruption in Social Practice and Daily Life
- Creating Evidence for Corruption 111
- Corruption in Greco-Roman Egypt 129
- Ideas of Corruption in Roman Imperial Ports 145
- Suspect Inheritances 167
- Salvian and the Corrupted Church of Southern Gaul 199
-
Part 3: The Politics and Diplomacy of Corruption
- Corruption and Anti-Corruption 223
- Beyond Crime 257
- Usurpation of (and Corruption Involving) the Right of Roman Citizenship in the Republic 287
- Balkan Promises 307
- Index 335