miércoles, 30 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR: I e-mailed you your final grades

If you want to know your grades in the final exam and in the entire class, check your Tec e-mail. Remember the revisión is tomorrow, but it is optional. Just to be clear:

The revisión is NOT:

  • Mandatory for me. I'm obligated to upload a grade for each student 48 hours after the exam itself, but not to be trapped in a classroom for two hours with your graded exams before doing so. I do it because I care about you and about answering your questions, not because I have to. 
  • A negotiation of your grade if you don't like it. Unless you find a mistake I made, your grade is quite final.
  • An opportunity to artificially raise your grade. This is called corruption, and I don't stand for it.
  • Your last chance to show commitment to the class. You're supposed to do that during the semester.
The revisión IS:
  • For students who have concrete questions about their grades. For example, maybe you're wondering how getting a 65 in the final exam translates into getting an 80 in your final grade, and I'll be happy to show you. 
  • For students who failed the class and want to know what's gonna happen now. I can give you advice and hear you out. Just so you know: it's going to be okay. Failing a class just means you're not ready for the next one, and that's fine. It doesn't mean you're stupid or a bad person, it just means you need to adjust your efforts when you try again next semester. Take this as an opportunity to try harder and as evidence that second (and sometimes third) chances do exist.
  • A good chance to drop by to say hi to me and wish me a happy winter break. I'm going to Culiacán to visit my grandma and then spending Christmas and New Year's here in CDMX. I also plan on watching a lot of Game of Thrones and rewatching a lot of RuPaul's Drag Race.
  • An opportunity to chat about next semester and what's to come. 20th century history, here we come! 

jueves, 24 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR 301: Revisión final, December 1, A1-111

Our revisión final for your final exam will be on Thursday, December 1, from 14:30 to 15:30, in A1-111.

Going is entirely optional, but I'll be there in case you have any questions about your grades or feel like dropping by to say hi.


LAIR 304: Revisión final, December 1, A1-111

Our revisión final for your final exam will be on Thursday, December 1, from 13:30 to 14:30, in A1-111.

Going is entirely optional, but I'll be there in case you have any questions about your grades or want to drop by and say hi.


GAIC: Revisión final, December 2, A1-111

Our revisión final is on Friday, December 2, from 11:30 to 12:30 in A1-111.

Going is entirely optional, but I'll be there in case you have any questions or feel like saying hi.


RIRC: Revisión final, 28 noviembre, A1-111

La revisión final es el lunes 28 de noviembre de 11:30 a 12:30 en A1-111.

No es obligatorio que vayan, pero ahí estaré por si tienen alguna duda o quieren pasar a saludar. 


miércoles, 23 de noviembre de 2016

RIRC: ¡Sí se abrió el tópico de América Latina!

Me informan (o sea, Lizette me informa) que sí se abrió el tópico de América Latina. Si les interesa tomarlo con el profesor Guillermo Almeida, vayan con Lizette e inscríbanse. Va a estar cool.


martes, 22 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR 301: Feedback session (November 23)

Please bring snacks for a final feedback session. :)

Class will take place in Aulas 2-402.

LAIR 304: Feedback Session (November 23)

Today we will bring snacks and drinks for a final talk before the end of the semester. :)

GAIC: Feedback Session (November 23)

Today we will bring snacks and drinks to class for a final talk before the end of the semester. :)

Globalization Playlist.

RIRC: Convivencia y Retroalimentación (Noviembre 23)

Hoy traeremos algo de comer y tomar (no alcohol!) para tener una última charla antes del fin de clases.

domingo, 20 de noviembre de 2016

"Teaching 1984 in 2016" by Andrew Simmons

"In December 2015, a student reacted angrily when I wondered if the average social-media-enthralled 17-year-old in 2015 might not possess the reading and writing proficiency of her 1965 counterpart. I was asking students if, as with the Newspeak-besieged citizens of Oceania in 1984, a struggle to unravel and communicate complex ideas could result in the gradual erosion of those ideas themselves. It’s just different now, not worse, the student said. With the bell, 10 minutes later, she breezed toward the door. Over her shoulder, she shouted, sprightly and confident, that classes shouldn’t have to read 1984. It was too long, too confusing, and too full of words no one used anymore. Nothing that has happened in the past 365 days has made me more afraid and emboldened than that."

El resto del artículo está aquí

Y a mí me pasó igual con un estudiante que me dijo que un capítulo de 40 páginas era demasiado, porque el semestre pasado apenas podían leer 20 páginas por semana.

"¿Nunca has leído un libro completo?", pregunté yo.

"Claro que sí", dijo el estudiante, "pero no les entiendo".

Pocas cosas me han llenado más de miedo (y ganas de llenar mis clases de literatura) que esa conversación.

viernes, 18 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR 301: Final Dates

Final Project: November 22, before midnight, through Blackboard.

Final Review: November 22, in class.

Final Asesoría: November 22, 10:30-11:30, in Media Luna. 

Final Convivencia: November 23, in A2-402. Please bring snacks and drinks.

Final Exam: November 29, 11:00-13:30, in A2-111.

LAIR 304: Final Dates

Final Project: November 22, before midnight, through Blackboard.

Final Review: November 22, in class.

Final Convivencia: November 23, in class. Please bring snacks and drinks.

Final Asesoría: November 23, 10:30-11:30, in Media Luna.

Final Exam: November 29, 11:00-13:30, in A2-111.

GAIC: Final Dates

Final Project: November 18, before midnight, through Blackboard.

Final Review: November 22, in class.

Final Convivencia: November 23, in class. Please bring snacks and drinks.

Final Asesoría: November 23, 15:30-16:30, in Media Luna.

Final Exam: November 30, 9:00-11:00, in our classroom (A1-310).

RIRC: Fechas finales

Convivencia final: Miércoles 23 de noviembre, 7:30-8:30, en el salón. Favor de traer bocadillos y bebidas.

Asesoría final: Miércoles 23 de noviembre, 15:30-16:30, Media Luna. Asimismo, estaré en el salón de 9 a 11 el viernes 25 de noviembre para resolver dudas.

Proyecto final: Viernes 25 de noviembre, antes de medianoche, por Blackboard.

Colecta para migrantes adolescentes


La colecta está abierta hasta el martes, se recibe en oficinas 2, planta baja, oficina de MEXMUN.

jueves, 17 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR: "A Young Doctor's Notebook" by Mikhail Bulgakov (November 18)

Recommended content:

1. "A Young Doctor's Notebook" Trailer (2013).


2. "A Country Doctor's Notebook" by Chris Bird

3. "Dr. Junkie: The Doctor Addict in Bulgakov's Morphine" by Victoria Tischler

4. "The Agrarian Problem in Russia Before the Revolution" by V. Maklakov

GAIC: Case study, Becoming Denmark (November 18)

1. "Anti-corruption the Danish Way" by Knut Godfredsen


2. "Becoming Denmark: Historical Designs of Corruption Control" by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi

3. "The Question of How Denmark Got to be Denmark, A Historical Path of Fighting Corruption" by Mette Frisk Jensen

4. "Minimal Corruption in Denmark Began With The Absolute Monarchy" by Niels Ebdrup

5. "Denmark Corruption Report" by GAN Integrity

RIRC: Tabula Rasa, Práctica Diplomática 3 (Noviembre 18)

Hoy es el segundo día de la tabula rasa, que se calificará así. Nos vemos en A4-002.

Vengan formales, cafeinados y listos, porque la temperatura de la actividad sube.


miércoles, 16 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR: No class today (November 17)

You'll be working on your science projects, so we won't have class today.

GAIC: Presentations & Integration (November 17)

Today you will finish your presentations on corruption case studies. Upload them to our Google Drive.

1. "Lean On" by Major Lazer & DJ Snake

 

2. "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M.



PFHCSC: Semana 14, ¿Qué se puede hacer?



Semana 14: Controlling Corruption Through Collective Action, Mungiu-Pippidi

Central Idea: “In order to place effective checks on these officials [who act as patrons or gatekeepers for corruption in patrimonial regimes], thereby creating real accountability, there must exist at the grassroots level an active and enlightened citizenry rather than simply dependent clients or disempowered individuals” (103).

·         “Democratization is increasingly producing a new type of regime—one in which rulers who monopolize power and treat the state as their own patrimony are succeeded by competing political groupings or parties that practice similarly nonuniversal allocation of public resources based on patronage, nepotism, and the exchange of favors. (…) Despite the presence of political pluralism and contested elections in these societies, ethical universalism fails to take hold as the main rule of the game, and winners of the political process, in turn, treat the state as the major source of spoils, feeding off the public resources that they divert toward their clients” (101). Political competition in itself (maybe also economic competition) does not in itself solve particularism, patrimonialism or corruption. Competition does not ensure that a set of rules oriented at maximum social welfare will exist or even develop.
·         “It seems that ethical universalism becomes an institution (a widespread norm endorsed by the majority) rather than a mere ideology of the enlightened when 1) a significant part of society shares the belief in the superiority of ethical universalism over particularism as a mode of governance, and 2) enough individuals are also willing to act on this belief to make it a reality. This does not necessarily require an absolute majority, but rather a majority of active public opinion, including a fraction of the elite” (104). Public opinion (defined as that of the media and an active citizenry) can shape what the rules are when they act as watchdogs and are not relegated to being clients of the government. Mungiu-Pippidi focuses on what she considers to be a set of rules called “ethical universalism”, but it may be more a matter of justice than of ethics, as she also calls it “an optimal equilibrium that maximizes social welfare” (109).
·         Civil society must “have the permanent capability to exercise normative constraints, and not be forced to rely solely on the vertical accountability provided by elections” (109) through the extensive use of civil associations and political participation. In parallel, “the media must be pluralistic and must carry out their watchdog duties effectively and credibly in order to generate normative constraints. The media must promote ethical universalism as the chief principle of governance and denounce governments captured by private interests” (110). This ensures that there is one set of rules for everyone, and that the government cannot rely on its authority or clientelistic relationships with the citizenry or the media to circumvent them.

The “normative constraints” cited by Mungiu-Pippidi are (103-104):
·         Values: “A prevailing social norm of ethical universalism based on values such as fairness and honesty”
·         Social capital: “A widespread habit of engaging in formal or informal collective action around shared interests, purposes, and values”
·         Civil society: “A dense network of voluntary associations (including the NGOs in the Western understanding of the term, but also unions, religious groups, and the like)”
·         Civic culture: “Sustained participation and political engagement of the people, for instance through the media or social movements”

Mungiu-Pippidi tests her central thesis empirically and finds a “significant positive relationship between control of corruption and:
·         “the number of associations (CSOs) per capita that explains 54% of the total variation, controlling for either human development or GDP per capita”
·         “freedom of the press” (67%), via Freedom House’s index
·         “Number of internet connections” (71%), used as an indicator of individual autonomy and access to information
·         “Protestantism is the major religious denomination” (61%), which seems to be relevant due to its “egalitarian ethos, which may have worked indirectly to support a general orientation toward ethical universalism, literacy, and the promotion of individualism”.
·         Joined in an OLS regression, these four variables account for “nearly 78% of the cases” and 84% “when outliers are eliminated” (107).
These percentages refer to how much of the variation in countries’ measure in the World Bank Institute’s control of corruption indicator can be traced to these four characteristics, both individually and as a group.

Mungiu-Pippidi then goes on to explain the problems faced by external donors when financing anticorruption projects in developing countries. These are:
·         Insufficient concreteness: “Far too many projects deal with corruption in general, with a focus on “raising awareness”, while only a handful directly attack corruption in a specific organization or branch of government” (113).
·         Poor contextualization: “To challenge corruption, one must understand how it works in a specific environment. Importing anticorruption policies from developed to less-developed countries, where institutional fit is poor, cannot succeed” (113).
·         Confusion between civil society’s role as a watchdog over the government and a deliverer of services for that same government: “If civil society is funded by the government or asked by its donors to carry out joint programs with the government that it is supposed to monitor, it risks jeopardizing its critical oversight role, and a client-patron relationship may emerge instead” (113).
·         Lack of a local focus: “As normative constraints in corrupt societies are more often exercised against whistleblowers than against corrupt officials, it is essential that donor groups provide political support and take their cues from local actors rather than trying themselves to direct the creation of domestic forces in favor of change” (114).

Regarding a possible concept of corruption as it relates to particularism and patrimonialism, Mungiu-Pippidi says that “in a society dominated by particularism, it is more convenient for individuals to try to accede to the privileged group or to become clients of influential patrons tan to engage in a long-term battle to change the rule of the game to ethical universalism. In such societies, there is no tradition of association between equals, since trust is particularistic and is built on clans, patrons, and clients. Attempts to change this are bound to have high costs with few immediate returns. Any progress toward ethical universalism would threaten the existing order, and the predators and patrons who would fight against such progress are likely to be greater in number, richer, and better placed in the society than in the new horizontally structured associations” (109).

martes, 15 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR: Russia's Expansion (November 16)

Today you will finish your presentations on China and Japan, and then we will apply the same concepts to Russia.

1. "Russia, the Kievan Rus, and the Mongols: Crash Course World History 20" by John Green

 

2. "Russia in the Late 19th Century" by Study Guys
 






GAIC: Corruption Case Studies & Policy Solutions (November 16)

Today you will work on your case studies and start presenting them to the group. Upload your case studies to the Google Drive.

RIRC: Tabula Rasa, Práctica Diplomática 2 (Noviembre 16)

Hoy es el segundo día de la tabula rasa, que se calificará así. Nos vemos en A4-002.

Vengan formales, cafeinados y listos, porque subiremos un poco la presión del evento.


lunes, 14 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR: Nationalism and Imperialism in Asia (November 15)

Today you will present your sources from yesterday.

GAIC: Corruption Case Studies (November 15)

 Chapter 4, Influence Markets
  1. United States
  2. United Kingdom
  3. Uruguay
 Chapter 5, Elite Cartels
  1. Argentina
  2. South Korea
 Chapter 6, Oligarchs and Clans
  1. Philippines
  2. Russia
 Chapter 7, Official Moguls
  1. Tunisia
  2. Egypt 
 1. "Corruption, Contention, and Reform" by Michael Johnston

2. "Syndromes of Corruption" by Michael Johnston. IMPORTANT: Focus on Page 40.

No hay una geopolítica de la corrupción

"Como ranas que saltan de una olla de agua que se calentó demasiado rápido, distintos gobiernos alrededor del mundo parecen saltar al toparse con escándalos de corrupción y sus implicaciones internacionales.


En Brasil, la operación Lava Jato llevó a la presidenta Dilma Rousseff a un juicio político sin importar que su país se encontrara a semanas de ser el anfitrión de los Juegos Olímpicos en Río de Janeiro. Los Panama Papers han sido nombrados como los responsables de cambios políticos tan diversos como haber hecho renunciar al Primer Ministro de Islandia y haber tocado a los gobernantes de países tan diversos como ArgentinaChina y el Reino Unido. Si bien estos casos tienen implicaciones internacionales, y un artículo reciente de Foreign Affairs muestra lo fácil que sería declarar que la corrupción es geopolíticamente relevante y el nuevo tema de política exterior, este no es el caso. Lo que se sabe sobre la corrupción no está unificado bajo una misma discusión y mucho menos bajo una misma perspectiva dentro de países individuales. Esta condición tiene implicaciones para los contextos nacionales que impiden que sea un tema relevante para la política exterior de cualquier país."

Escribí esto para Punto Decimal. Pueden ver el resto del artículo aquí y aquí.

domingo, 13 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR: Japan & China in the 19th Century (November 14)

1. "Samurai, Daimyo, Matthew Perry, and Nationalism: Crash Course World History 34" by John Green


2. "Asian Responses to Imperialism: Crash Course World History 213" by John Green


3. "Shogunate" by Encyclopedia Britannica

4. "Meiji Restoration" by Encyclopedia Britannica

5. "Opium Wars" by Encyclopedia Britannica

6. "The Partitioning of China" by Encyclopedia Britannica

7. "Japan's Rise as a Colonial Power" by Encyclopedia Britannica

GAIC: Corruption Measurements (November 14)

Today you will be presenting your analysis (Friday's assignment) to the group and grading each other. I expect lots of enlightening ideas about how to study corruption!

RIRC: Tabula Rasa, Práctica Diplomática 1 (Noviembre 14)

Los tres días de la tabula rasa se calificarán similarmente a los días del seminario, pero con la siguiente checklist:

1. Pedir el piso antes de participar, levantando el letrero de su país (25%).
2. Esperar su turno para hablar y referirse a sí mismas como "la delegación de ____" (25%).
3. Dirigir cada participación diciendo "a la delegación de _____", excepto cuando se haga una solicitud formal de receso diciendo "la delegación de _____ solicita un receso". (25%)
4. Tiempo límite de 2 minutos por participación (25%).

Recuerden que nos vemos en Aulas 4, salón 002, con vestimenta formal. 

jueves, 10 de noviembre de 2016

LAIR: "The Travels of Lao Can" by Liu E (November 11)

Recommended content:

1. "The real China wasn't cute enough."

2. Excerpt from the Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria, from Lin Zexu (1839):

"All those people in China who sell opium or smoke opium should receive the death penalty. We trace the crime of those barbarians who through the years have been selling opium, then the deep harm they have wrought and the great profit they have usurped should fundamentally justify their execution according to law. We take into to consideration, however, the fact that the various barbarians have still known how to repent their crimes and return to their allegiance to us by taking the 20,183 chests of opium from their storeships and petitioning us, through their consular officer [superintendent of trade], Elliot, to receive it. It has been entirely destroyed and this has been faithfully reported to the Throne in several memorials by this commissioner and his colleagues. 

Fortunately we have received a specially extended favor Born His Majesty the Emperor, who considers that for those who voluntarily surrender there are still some circumstances to palliate their crime, and so for the time being he has magnanimously excused them from punishment. But as for those who again violate the opium prohibition, it is difficult for the law to pardon them repeatedly. Having established new regulations, we presume that the ruler of your honorable country, who takes delight in our culture and whose disposition is inclined towards us, must be able to instruct the various barbarians to observe the law with care. It is only necessary to explain to them the advantages and advantages and then they will know that the legal code of the Celestial Court must be absolutely obeyed with awe. 

We find your country is sixty or seventy thousand li [three li make one mile, ordinarily] from China Yet there are barbarian ships that strive to come here for trade for the purpose of making a great profit. The wealth of China is used to profit the barbarians. That is to say, the great profit made by barbarians is all taken from the rightful share of China. By what right do they then in return use the poisonous drug to injure the Chinese people? Even though the barbarians may not necessarily intend to do us harm, yet in coveting profit to an extreme, they have no regard for injuring others. Let us ask, where is your conscience? I have heard that the smoking of opium is very strictly forbidden by your country; that is because the harm caused by opium is clearly understood. Since it is not permitted to do harm to your own country, then even less should you let it be passed on to the harm of other countries -- how much less to China! Of all that China exports to foreign countries, there is not a single thing which is not beneficial to people: they are of benefit when eaten, or of benefit when used, or of benefit when resold: all are beneficial. Is there a single article from China which has done any harm to foreign countries? Take tea and rhubarb, for example; the foreign countries cannot get along for a single day without them. If China cuts off these benefits with no sympathy for those who are to suffer, then what can the barbarians rely upon to keep themselves alive? "

GAIC: Work on Final Project (November 11)

Today you will be working on your final projects. Ask me any questions you may have!

RIRC: Preparación, Práctica diplomática (Noviembre 11)

1. "Ten Duel Commandments" de Lin-Manuel Miranda


2. Piktochart para realizar sus infografías.

3. Padlet para subir sus infografías. La contraseña es dili2016

4. "Diplomatic Negotiation: Essence and Evolution" by Paul Meerts

5. Prezi de la sesión. 

miércoles, 9 de noviembre de 2016

"History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump" by Tobias Stone

"What can we do? Well, again, looking back, probably not much. The liberal intellectuals are always in the minority. See Clay Shirky’s Twitter Storm on this point. The people who see that open societies, being nice to other people, not being racist, not fighting wars, is a better way to live, they generally end up losing these fights. They don’t fight dirty. They are terrible at appealing to the populace. They are less violent, so end up in prisons, camps, and graves. We need to beware not to become divided (see: Labour party), we need to avoid getting lost in arguing through facts and logic, and counter the populist messages of passion and anger with our own similar messages. We need to understand and use social media. We need to harness a different fear. Fear of another World War nearly stopped World War 2, but didn’t. We need to avoid our own echo chambers. Trump and Putin supporters don’t read the Guardian, so writing there is just reassuring our friends. We need to find a way to bridge from our closed groups to other closed groups, try to cross the ever widening social divides.

(Perhaps I’m just writing this so I can be remembered by history as one of the people who saw it coming.)"

Read the article here

LAIR: Imperialism in India and Indochina (November 10)

Today we will continue yesterday's topic.

GAIC: Determining Corruption Control (November 10)

Today you will work on the activity for Friday.

Asesoría cancelada

No hay asesorías hoy a las 3:30 porque tengo un curso. Si tienen dudas, escríbanme un mail, o nos vemos a la misma hora del miércoles de la semana que viene.

PFHCSC: Semana 13, Corrupción y Estado de derecho: El caso de Dinamarca



Semana 13: The Road to Denmark, Mungiu-Pippidi

Central Idea: “The historical road to the contemporary state should not be seen as a linear progression toward less patrimonialism on the one hand and more democracy and accountability on the other. As welfare and development tasks shift from the community to the government, there is an accompanying increase in corruption opportunities and a loss of traditional systems of self-control over common goods” (75). It does not make sense to copy the current structures of anticorruption achievers, as this does not take their development or social context into account. It is more useful to look at their historical development, as previous forms of contemporary anticorruption achievers are more similar to current middle and low-income countries and their governments.

·         The analyzed cases (Denmark, Great Britain, France) took different routes, but their specific context in the 18th and 19th centuries allowed for the rule of law, an autonomous bureaucracy, and political socialization of new groups to be achieved before their governments attempted to enfranchise their entire populations. This situation is rare in the world at large, especially in countries where free elections are achieved before the rule of law or political accountability.
·         Modern states have more responsibilities than their predecessors, as well as the added responsibility of seeking the common good if they are liberal democracies. “It may be freer of traditional privilege, more merit-oriented, and more objective, but it also has far more tasks to perform than people or traditional communities used to undertake before by themselves and far more resources as well” (75).

Three different routes to good governance and corruption control are analyzed in the following successful cases:
-          The Danish model. An enlightened despot centralized power and gradually replaced the traditional nobility with middle-class bureaucrats who are sworn in directly by the king and rely on income from their public office (i.e. their loyalty to the king) to sustain themselves, later setting this arrangement into a constitution. This process was gradual and took about 160 years (from the creation of the absolute monarchy under Frederick III in 1660 to the Congress of Vienna in 1815, when only about 10% of Danish civil servants were nobles and it was mandatory for them to hold a law degree). It gave good results by creating a context where the government is accountable to civil society because it needs it to form its bureaucracy, and civil society is accountable to the government because civil society only has power by participating in the government’s meritocratic system. However, the process may only be an option for smaller polities with clearly delineated borders (such as island nations or Asian monarchies).
-          The Revolutionary model. Example: France. The French Revolution seeks to do away with favoritism and particularism in favor of meritocracy and equal representation, as it is considered that corruption is a part of human nature that must be prevented instead of punished. The main difference between this model and the others is that an overhaul of the system happens, the bureaucracy’s ties to local systems of governance remains by allowing the government to be managed by an elite. While it achieves an overhaul of the old system (l’Ancien Regime), it leaves the political system open to factions and patronage, mostly with local ties that remain similar to the old regime. Similar to the United States, it included “phases of intense politicization, public resources spoiling, and favoritism –challenges very similar to those facing today’s middle-income developing countries” (74). The process took about 80 years (from the first attempts at transparency in Louis XVI’s Estates General, which directly caused the French Revolution in 1789, to the creation of the Third Republic in 1870, when the republican form of government was established and attention was directed at colonial expansion).
-          The Reform model. Example: Great Britain. Especially after the colonial reconfiguration brought on by the Seven Years War in the 1760s (when Great Britain gained Canada and India from France and Portugal), it was clear that the British model of private colonialism was not getting as many resources to the government’s coffers as it should. This led to parliamentary oversight reform that changed the colonies’ political status (first by taking them from the private companies that managed them and making them Crown colonies, then by turning them into Dominions of the Crown) and began the creation of a professional civil service. Given the legislative basis of these changes, they took around 50 years to complete (from the 1780s to around 1840, when the British Raj was formally established in India) and involved active participation by a “parliament and the local civil society that debated, investigated, and gradually adopted reforms to foster public integrity” (72).

Instead of taking these specific contexts into account, modern anticorruption studies focus on recommending that countries enact a set of institutions (also called “pillars”) that are presumed to fight corruption by just existing at the same time. These are:
·         An elected legislature
·         An honest and strong executive
·         An independent and accountable judicial system
·         An independent auditor general (usually subordinate to the legislature)
·         An ombudsman
·         A specialized and independent anticorruption agency
·         An honest and nonpoliticized civil service or bureaucracy
·         Honest and efficient local governments
·         Independent and free media
·         A civil society able to promote integrity
·         Responsible, honest corporations.
·         An international framework for integrity. For example, being a party to international treaties and standards on anticorruption practices. (76)

The main problem with assuming that the mere existence of these institutions will fight corruption lies in the fact that each of them was developed at a different point in time in the above models.
·         Bureaucracies had a relatively small role in earlier European politics, as civil service posts were filled by appointed citizens and seen as a civic duty, not as a job that would allow anyone to make a living. Denmark changed this in the 17th century, but it took more than a century for it to become an entrenched practice.
·         Independent judiciaries were also relatively recent, with Great Britain being the leader in the field and only creating its current judiciary around the mid-19th century. Even then, it had to count on a specific equilibrium between the judiciary being professional and respected, and coexisting with a government that was willing to give up some of its power to the judiciary. “An independent judiciary did not lead to the historical development of control of corruption, but seems rather to have been a result of it, its development determined mostly by politics” (78).
·         Montesquieu’s separation of powers was a popular idea since the 18th century, but it was difficult to implement. Having separate and independent executives and legislative bodies is a relatively recent development in Europe.
·         General auditors and ombudsmen were also a relatively recent creation in 18th and 19th century Sweden, respectively, and they worked due to specific contexts. While their powers are relatively limited (“It relies upon a reputation for impartiality and integrity, but formally has remarkable few powers; the ombudsman can make recommendations but cannot reverse decisions” and “the auditor was the arm of the sovereign who checked on his subjects, not the arm of an elected legislature who checked on government” (78)), they were successful in Sweden “because of demand from strong political challengers and public opinion sensitive to issues of corruption and abuse. In other words, there was high demand for government accountability that reflected the existence of a powerful opposition challenging the existing equilibrium. Similar to judicial independence, these institutions were a result of specific historical Western transitions to control of corruption rather than their cause” (79).

México es uno de los casos en los cuales la mera existencia de estos pilares no ha garantizado una lucha anticorrupción efectiva. Esto se debe a dificultades relacionadas con la evolución específica del arreglo social mexicano, así como la respuesta de sus instituciones políticas al mismo a través de la Constitución de 1917.
·         México posiblemente ha tenido momentos en los cuales encaja en los tres modelos descritos por Mungiu-Pippidi. El modelo danés del déspota ilustrado que después busca profesionalizar al servicio civil y plasmarlo en la constitución posiblemente puede observarse en las acciones de Porfirio Díaz antes de la Revolución Mexicana. Las reformas traídas por el Maximato tras la Revolución, especialmente las relacionadas con el reparto agrario y la nacionalización de recursos, así como gran parte del siglo XX bajo el PRI, posiblemente pueden verse como acordes al modelo revolucionario. Finalmente, es posible que la interacción actual entre organizaciones de la sociedad civil y un gobierno no enteramente dispuesto a soltar parte de su poder en aras de luchar contra la corrupción encaje en el modelo reformista visto en Gran Bretaña. Las primeras dos etapas se han suspendido semiabruptamente, mientras que la tercera posiblemente esté en curso.
·         La separación de poderes no se logró después de 1917 debido a que el sistema priísta dependía directamente de que el presidente tuviera la lealtad de su partido y el control de las demás ramas del gobierno. Tampoco se ha podido lograr tras la transición democrática debido a que el arreglo constitucional está diseñado para permitir el escenario anterior, y como se vio con Vicente Fox, incluye un federalismo altamente volátil en el cual los gobernadores no están comprometidos a un grado mínimo de rendición de cuentas hacia la federación ni hacia sus ciudadanos.
·         Similarmente a Suecia, la Auditoría Superior de la Federación se creó para que el gobierno supervisara a sus propios burócratas (particularmente para que la Cámara de Diputados supervisara al Ejecutivo), mas no para que el gobierno se supervisara a sí mismo. La reforma de 1999 bajo Zedillo cambió este arreglo, mas no el contexto en el cual la ASF queda subordinada a estándares desventajosos al momento de armar casos contra cualquier ente auditada. Si bien la ASF quedó menos aislada con el Sistema Nacional Anticorrupción, este contexto no cambió.
·         La creación de un servicio civil de carrera en México no sucedió hasta 2002, y desde entonces se ha cooptado por prácticas patrimonialistas donde se abusa de la cláusula de excepción (es decir, que un contratado puede saltarse los estándares del Servicio Profesional de Carrera si sus superiores declaran que es necesario hacer una excepción en su caso) y, sobre todo tras la casi desaparición de la Secretaría de la Función Pública, se le ha dejado de supervisar por al menos tres años (desde 2013).
·         El papel de los medios de comunicación, las corporaciones y la sociedad civil promotora de la integridad ha sido debilitado por una participación activa del gobierno en las tres esferas. El gobierno financia a los medios de comunicación a través de un enorme gasto en publicidad oficial y, tras las reformas del sexenio de Salinas, participa activamente en el sector privado con joint ventures y licitaciones negociadas antes de ser competidas. Ante este escenario, la sociedad civil queda dividida entre una sobrecarga de información sesgada por publicidad oficial y una dependencia de financiamiento del gobierno, aunque no formen parte del sector público.
·         Finalmente, si bien México ha firmado tratados internacionales contra la corrupción en los marcos de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas y la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos, no ha quedado claro hasta qué punto los gobiernos mexicanos de después del año 2000 están comprometidos con su implementación. Si bien los compromisos legales de incluir las medidas acordadas en las leyes mexicanas sí se han llevado a cabo, se ha reportado desde 2015 que no es así con la implementación de esas mismas leyes. Tampoco queda claro qué otros tipos de participación en el ámbito internacional podrían llevar a un “international framework for integrity”.

Para la siguiente clase, leer:


1.       ¿Por qué Mungiu-Pippidi dice que la competencia no ese en sí misma un antídoto para el particularismo o para el patrimonialismo?
2.       ¿Por qué la interacción entre las cuatro ataduras normativas lleva a empoderar el universalismo ético?
3.       ¿Cómo es que las ataduras normativas pueden pasar a convertirse en normas de gobernanza?