New Sussex research centre examines how to stop corruption
President Nixon reads the transcripts of "Watergate", the corruption scandal that led to his resignation in 1974
What is corruption? What causes it? What can be done about it? These are the key questions being asked by the team of a new research centre at the University of Sussex.
The Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption (SCSC) will focus on the processes behind major scandals of the past, from Watergate to MPs’ expenses, and compare and draw lessons from corruption and anti-corruption discourses, ideas and movements.
Interim director Dr Dan Hough, a Reader in Politics, says: “Corruption has been around for as long as people have organised themselves, but never has it come under the spotlight as much as it does now. Individual cases have always been high profile, but the sheer number of corrupt acts that have been reported in recent times is unprecedented.
He says the catalyst for setting up the SCSC was the MPs’ expenses scandal. “The disconnect between what the wider world saw as corrupt and what the rules and regulations permitted for MPs, who simply claimed that all they were doing was following the rules as they were laid down, was subsequently very revealing. It made us realise that there was plenty of scope for academia to contribute to analysing the three questions that have subsequently come to shape the SCSC's work; what is corruption, what subsequently causes it and most importantly what can be done about it?”
The SCSC will be part of the University’s School of Law, Politics and Sociology. A number of academics have already been studying issues in this area, such as corruption in India and judicial bribery in Georgia. In addition to research, the centre will also be running a one-year masters programme in Corruption and Governance, starting in September (2012). Students will be expected to spend time working with regulatory bodies and organisations active in the field of anti-corruption, and to report on their time in the field, linking theoretical and analytical concepts studied at Sussex with the real-world of anti-corruption.
The centre will be hosting a launch conference in early September, when a number of high-profile speakers, ranging from politicians to NGO representatives, will be attending. The event will also coincide with the publication of Dr Hough’s new book [Corruption, Anti-Corruption and Governance, with Palgrave Macmillan], which looks at anti-corruption approaches in the UK, Germany, Poland, South Korea, Kenya and Bangladesh. Dr. Hough’s book subsequently analyses under which conditions particular anti-corruption strategies and policies are most likely to work best.
SEI Co-Director visits Croatia ahead of EU referendum
Prof Aleks Szczerbiak and Sussex graduate Andrea Covic at a meeting at the EU delegation office, held as part of Prof Szczerbiak's visit to Croatia.
A Sussex specialist on European referendums and East European politics visited Croatia last week just days before Croatians voted to join the European Union.
During his two-day visit from 19-20 January, Professor Aleks Szczerbiak - Professor of Politics and Contemporary European Studies and Co-Director of the Sussex European Institute (SEI) - was involved in a number of meetings with academics, policy makers, journalists and business leaders to present and discuss his research on EU referendums.
With his SEI colleague Professor Paul Taggart, in 2009 Professor Szczerbiak co-authored a book on EU Enlargement and Referendums, analysing the outcomes of the 2003 referendums in the former communist states of central and eastern Europe on whether to join the EU.
The two Sussex scholars also co-convene the European Parties Elections and Referendums Network (EPERN), which was set up in 2000 originally to research Euroscepticism but subsequently expanded its brief to look at European referendums and the impact of the European issue on electoral and party politics
Commenting on his visit, Professor Szczerbiak said: “This was a tremendously exciting time to be visiting Croatia and an excellent opportunity for me to share the findings of the research that Paul and I carried out on EU referendums.
“I’ve learnt a great deal that I can put to good use both in further research on this topic but also in the Sussex courses that I teach on East European politics.”
Professor Szczerbiak gave the keynote address at a major academic conference hosted by the Zagreb University Political Science Institute and attended by the Croatian foreign minister.
He also spoke to 60 young professionals (including more than 20 SEI graduates) at a meeting sponsored by the British Council in Croatia.
Since 1999 the Croatian government has been sending young people to Sussex to take the SEI’s MA in Contemporary European Studies - in return for working for them for up to five years after returning home. As a result, SEI has now trained nearly 100 Croatian graduates.
Professor Szczerbiak said: “I was particularly pleased to meet up with so many SEI alumni who are now having a huge, positive impact on public life in their country. It was really gratifying to hear them talk about their positive experiences at Sussex and how helpful this has been to them in their professional careers.”
Professor Szczerbiak’s visit was organised by the Academy of Political Development, a Croatian NGO aimed at developing democratic political culture and promoting dialogue and co-operation among future leaders in Croatia.
The Academy is headed by Ana Brncic, who graduated from the MA in Contemporary European Studies in 2002 and is now head of communications in the EU delegation in Croatia, having previously been a senior official in the Croatian ministries of foreign affairs and European integration.
Professor Tim Bale receives book prize
Prof Tim Bale (right) receives a prestigious PSA book prize from journalist Dominic Lawson (middle) at an awards ceremony compered by broadcaster Jon Snow (left).
A politics professor was in Westminster (where else?) last night (Tuesday 29 November) to receive a major book prize for his study of the modern Conservative Party.
Journalist Dominic Lawson presented Professor Tim Bale with the W.J.M. Mackenzie Book Prize for the year's best book in political science at the annual awards dinner of the Political Studies Association (PSA).
"Tim Bale has composed a thoughtful, perceptive and exhaustively researched study," said the prize judges. "An enjoyable, well-written and substantial contribution to the study of political parties" is how they described Professor Bale's book, The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron.
"It covers all aspects of the Conservative party - organisation, policy, ideology, and political strategy - in a finely researched and meticulous way."
This assessment of the book was shared by former Cabinet Minister, Baroness (Gillian) Shephard, one of many senior Tory politicians who have published glowing reviews.
She wrote: "Tim Bale has succeeded in combining an accurate overview of the Conservative Party's history from Thatcher to Cameron with a wealth of intimate detail. The combination makes the book a riveting read, and a must for all devotees of modern politics."
Another former Conservative Minister, Edwina Currie, was similarly glowing in her review in The Times, describing it as "a simply brilliant book" and declaring, "His judgments are spot-on."
This is an aspect of the book that was also picked up the PSA judges, who said: "Full of shrewd and astute judgments, it offers a mine of factual information and will for years be an indispensable source of understanding of the contemporary Conservative party."
Another thing that impressed them was Professor Bale's source material: "He has managed to secure a remarkable degree of access to key figures within the Conservative party and has obtained a formidable amount of primary material (often quite candid and on-the-record)."
Most importantly, perhaps, the book is "thoroughly readable", as former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd put it. The PSA judges agreed: "This book is written in a fluent, highly accessible and often witty style and demonstrates impressive narrative skills.
"It makes a major contribution to our understanding of the Conservative party and hence of modern British politics," they concluded.
The PSA awards event, which marked the achievements of politicians, academics and journalists, was compered by Jon Snow from 'Channel 4 News' and will be televised on BBC Parliament at 9pm on Saturday (3 December) and repeated at 10.30am on Monday (5 December).
Students quiz former Foreign Secretary on world affairs
Hundreds of staff and students filled a campus lecture theatre to capacity today (3 May) to take part in a question-and-answer session with Labour MP David Miliband.
The former Foreign Secretary talked about world affairs, including the fatal shooting the day before of Osama Bin Laden, which he said should be "rejoiced".
He then moved on to take questions from the floor, which covered topics such as university tuition fees, Libya, unpaid internships and the UK's coalition government.
Mr Miliband, addressing a question from David Cichon, President-elect of the Students' Union, said that he thought the raising of university tuition fees to £9,000 a year was "pretty dangerous".
The Oxford graduate said: "I think it's right that graduates pay towards some of the cost of their education. But it's in the national interest that we have a strong higher education sector and the proposed fee is being driven by the obliteration of the teaching grant."
When asked about the future of the coalition government, Mr Miliband predicted the coalition "will last another four years". He added: "The thing about the coalition is that the internal divisions have overshadowed the discussion of real issues. There are plenty of other places to get soap opera."
Mr Miliband also discussed the upcoming referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV), which takes place this Thursday (5 May). Alluding to his defeat under the AV system to brother Ed in the Labour leadership contest in 2010, he said: "I've got more reason than most to be sceptical of some of the drawbacks of AV, but I think a Yes vote is the right thing. AV allows you to vote with your heart and your head."
More than 200 people packed into Asa Briggs 1 lecture theatre in Arts A to listen to the discussion, which was chaired by Professor of Politics, Tim Bale.
The large turnout proved, said Mr Miliband, that the British public is passionate about politics. He said: "Enthusiasm in politics is alive and kicking at Sussex."
Mr Miliband's talk was reported in 'The Badger', the University of Sussex Student Union newspaper.
View the video of David Miliband in conversation with Tim Bale.
The Sussex Law School, School of Law, Politics and Sociology, hosts the SLSA annual conference 2011
Justice Edwin Cameron
The Sussex Law School at the University of Sussex was delighted to host the 21st Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Annual Conference, 12 - 14 April 2011. The conference, organised by Sue Millns and Jo Bridgeman and a team of colleagues from the Sussex Law School, took place in the Fulton Building attended by over 350 delegates - academics, practitioners, researchers and postgraduate students from all over the world – who discussed a myriad of topics that examined the impact of law upon society and the capacity of society to influence legal change. There was a fantastic range of papers, and themes, given by delegates from a truly international field.
The Socio-Legal Studies Association itself was formed in 1990 in the UK. It grew out of the Socio-Legal Group which for some years had provided an annual forum for socio-legal scholars to meet and disseminate their work. However, it was felt that there was a need for a more permanent organisational structure which would help to keep scholars in touch with each other, providing regular channels of communication and promoting and supporting the work of socio-legal academics. The creation of an annual conference facilitates the meeting of socio-legal scholars and the promotion of their work nationally and internationally.
SLSA conferences are organised around a series of ‘streams’ and ‘themes’. The ‘streams’ represent substantive areas of law and this year included streams on: European Law; International Criminal Law; Race, Religion and Human Rights; and Indigenous Rights and Minority Rights, to name but a few. The ‘themes’ are cross-cutting and for 2011 included topics such as: ‘Challenging Ownership: Meanings of Space, Time and Identity’; ‘Auditors, Advocates and Experts – Monitoring, Negotiating and (Re)Creating Rights’ and ‘Criminalising Commerce’.
We were honoured to be able to present our plenary session by Justice Edwin Cameron, of the Constitutional Court of South Africa chaired by Simon Fanshawe, followed by a drinks reception at the Brighton Museum. Edwin Cameron was appointed a Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, South Africa’s highest court, from 1 January 2009. Before that, he was a judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal for eight years, and a High Court judge for six. He was educated at Pretoria Boys’ High School and Stellenbosch University. There he won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he gained the top academic awards in law. He joined the Johannesburg Bar in 1983, and from 1986 practised as a human rights lawyer from the University of the Witwatersrand's Centre for Applied Legal Studies, where he was awarded a personal professorship in law. His practice included labour and employment law, defence of ANC fighters charged with treason, conscientious and religious objection, land tenure and forced removals, and gay and lesbian equality. In 1994, President Mandela appointed him an acting judge and then a permanent judge of the High Court from 1995.
Justice Cameron has received many awards, among them Honorary Fellowships of Keble College, Oxford and of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies, London; the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights (2000); Stellenbosch University's Alumnus Award (2000), Transnet's HIV/AIDS Champions Award and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation's Excellence in Leadership Award (2003).
In 2002 the Bar of England and Wales honored him with a special award for his “contribution to international jurisprudence and the protection of human rights”. His memoir, Witness to AIDS, was awarded South Africa's most prestigious literary award for non-fiction, the Sunday Times/Alan Paton prize (2006). In 2009, he was installed as an honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple. He holds honorary doctorates from King’s College London and the University of the Witwatersrand.
MP holds Commons talk for Sussex postgrads
Alumnus Hilary Benn MP held a careers master class for Sussex postgraduate students at the Houses of Parliament in London in Fenruary 2010.
Twenty-five Masters students took up the opportunity to visit the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of the University's new employability initiative PostgradPlus.
Mr Benn, who graduated from Sussex with a degree in Russian Studies in 1974, agreed to meet and talk to the students as part of a series of PostgradPlus 'alumni masterclasses' this term.
Described by one student as "a fantastic opportunity for so many reasons", the visit was hailed as a success by Linda Buckham, Director of the Careers and Employability Centre. She said: "The Careers and Employability Centre and the Development and Alumni Relations Office are working together to develop opportunities like this.
"Fostering new employability and career mind-sets will enable Sussex Masters students to thrive in the 21st-century labour market."
PostgradPlus also offers employability skills workshops - a series of one-day sessions focusing on the skills and attitudes sought by employers.
The Careers and Employability Centre is managing the programme, running events, workshops and web pages.
"We encourage masters students to apply their research and networking skills to their career development and to make links between their dissertation research and their career research," says Catherine Reynolds from the Careers and Employability Centre.
From the staff news pages.
Top lawyer gives campus talk
The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC delivered the inaugural lecture of the University’s ‘Issues in Criminal Justice’ series in February.
The speech, given at the Chowen lecture theatre in the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), marked the merger of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Baroness Scotland set out her views on developments in and challenges for the prosecuting authorities she superintends, and her aspirations for the future.
The talk was attended by the Chief Constable of Kent Police and alumnus Michael Fuller, who has just been appointed as the new head of the CPS Inspectorate.
Baroness Scotland QC said:
“This year brings the public prosecution service into a new decade and a new era. The recent merger of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) shows that making savings and providing a better service are not incompatible.
“The role of the prosecutor has changed and evolved over time, and expectations of prosecution services have, rightly, never been higher. Crime is more complex than ever and crosses organisational and functional boundaries, and this merger will create an even stronger, more responsive, flexible and resilient public prosecution service for the future.”
Professor Stephen Shute, convenor of the lecture series and Head of the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, said: “The aim of this major new series of lectures is to attract very distinguished speakers to the School of Law, Politics and Sociology to deliver lectures on issues of current interest concerning the UK’s criminal justice system.
“I am delighted that Baroness Scotland accepted my invitation to deliver the inaugural lecture in this series, which have been made possible as a result of a generous bequest from the estate of Richard Headridge QC. I am hoping that this was the first of many thought provoking sessions exploring criminal justice issues.”
Other speakers include Professor Jeremy Horder, whose topic will be criminal law and bureaucracy, and Michael Mansfield QC, who gave his recollections as a radical lawyer.
From the Bulletin - 12 February 2010.
New academic building
Timescale: construction to begin mid 2010
Completion: due end of 2012
Project value: c£29million
Project Manager: Martin Green
Project lead: Angela Pater
This exciting new development will be a replacement for the current Arts D and E buildings, which are now costly to maintain and provide insufficient space.
This project will provide a landmark building in the heart of the campus that will achieve a very high standard in both design and environmental performance.
The building will provide a mix of teaching and learning space, academic space and a large lecture theatre.
Timetable
- enabling works contract (services and demolition) starts April 2010
- work commences in April 2010 to divert services to facilitate the new building and demolition will then take place in June 2010
- new build contract commences September 2010
- completion and occupation of the new building will be in time for the new academic year 2012.
Environmental standards
The University of Sussex takes its environmental performance very seriously, and is actively implementing an accredited Environmental Management System. The new academic building will be designed, constructed and operated to the highest practicable environmental standards, in accordance with the University's environmental policy.
