"Warning. Smoking Kills!" It also corrupts law enforcement officials and eviscerates state institutions. It devours politicians, professionals, business people and ordinary workers in the chase for big bucks and the battle for a slice of an ever-shrinking cigarette market.

Join one of South Africa's former tax sleuths, Johann van Loggerenberg, in a wild ride through the double-dealing world of tobacco's colourful characters and ruthless corporates. Meet the femme fatales, mavericks, mercenaries and grandmasters, and learn how the crime-busting unit led by van Loggerenberg at SARS and its "Project Honey Badger" became a victim of war between industry players and a high-stakes political game driven by state capture.

This is the tale of a few good men and women who dared to try to hold to account a billion-dollar international industry rife with private spy networks, tax evasion, collusion and corruption - ultimately at great cost to themselves and South Africa.

This extraordinary book contains the most solid evidence yet seen of a "World shadow government", changing rumour into reality and cause for concern. It's the book "They" most definitely don't want you to read and it keeps its promises with a sharp insight into what's in store. The writer owes no confidentiality to government, commerce, media or military and so may lift the lid.

Cape Town, 2018. South Africa’s mother city is wracked by drought. The prospect of premier Helen Zille’s ‘Day Zero’ – the day when all taps run dry – is driving its citizens into a frenzy. When it’s announced that Mayor Patricia de Lille is off the water crisis, the predicament reaches its zenith and politicians turn upon each other.

And so begins a stupendous battle within the Democratic Alliance: who will lead Cape Town? It’s during this time that author and researcher Crispian Olver applies to the City of Cape Town to gain access to certain official documents as part of a research project. He is baffled when his application is rejected without explanation, but this only strengthens his resolve to explore how the city of his childhood is run. In particular, he has his sights set on the relationship between city politicians and property developers.

Olver interviews numerous individuals, including many ‘chopped’ from the city administration. What he uncovers is a pandora’s box of backstabbing, in-fighting and backroom deals. He explores dodgy property developments at Wescape and Maiden’s Cove, delves into attempts to ‘hijack’ civic associations, and exposes the close yet precautious relationship between the mayor and City Hall’s so-called ‘laptop boys’. But his main goal is to understand what led to the political meltdown within the Democratic Alliance, and the defection of De Lille to form her own party.

T.R.A.S.H. is the page turning debut novel by Mark Lidster that dives head first in the realm of corruption, dark sexual fantasies, big business and future technologies to expose a secret that for all we know already exists...Limitless energy has been available for some time, but a cartel is withholding the designs that would release it. World governments are being blackmailed. Global secret services have been infiltrated to render them powerless. What twisted motives lie behind the dark science being developed by the psychotic megalomaniac wielding this power? How does an extraordinarily talented Mossad agent stumble upon the sinister cartel after the tragic death of her father? What twists of fate turn murder, sex, subterfuge and luck into the ingredients that guide her and an unlikely crew of misfits onto a suicidal journey to uncover the shocking truth.

Building upon the body of existing literature that has established the importance of norms in understanding why genders interact with social phenomena differently, and how gender plays a role in most aspects of corruption, this cutting-edge book expands the fields to explore the nexus between norms, gender and corruption. Making a timely and innovative contribution to all three streams of research, the book dives deeper into the role of norms in understanding the relationship between gender and corruption. An international, multidisciplinary group of experts combine global qualitative, in-depth case studies with large scale quantitative analysis to demonstrate the complementary use of different methods in the fields of gender, norms and corruption. Considering gendered differences in attitudes towards, and experiences of, corruption, the chapters examine political and institutional participation in corruption, looking closely at gender representation, stereotypes, and norms-based barriers. Analysing norms from different perspectives, with the main focus on social norms, this forward-thinking book makes a convincing case for why norms should be included in the research agenda on gender and corruption. Interdisciplinary in scope, this insightful book will prove invaluable to students and scholars of gender politics, social policy and sociology, and law, regulation and governance. It will also prove a useful reference guide to policymakers concerned with the relationship between gender and corruption.

'In explaining the rise to power of Kim Yo Jong, Lee displays his deep knowledge and understanding of North Korea's extreme, ruthless and self-obsessed dynastic autocracy, the creators and rulers of a de-facto nuclear weapon state. Not a reassuring story'- Sir John Scarlett, former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) The Sister is a fascinating, authoritative account of the spectacular rise of Kim Yo Jong, de-facto deputy to her brother, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, and the most powerful woman in North Korea. In 2022, in a particularly fiery speech, Kim Yo Jong threatened to nuke South Korea, reminding the world of the dangers posed by her state. But how did the youngest daughter of Dear Leader Kim Jong Il, his ‘sweet princess’, become the ruthless chief propagandist, internal administrator and foreign policymaker for her brother’s totalitarian regime? The Sister, written by Sung-Yoon Lee, a scholar and specialist on North Korea, uncovers the truth about Kim Yo Jong, her close bond with Kim Jong Un and the lessons in manipulation they learned from their father. He also examines the iron grip the Kim dynasty has on their country, the grotesque deaths of family members deemed disloyal, and the signs that Kim Yo Jong has been positioned as her brother’s successor should he die while his own children are young. Readable and insightful, this book is an invaluable portrait of a woman who might yet hold the survival of her despotic dynasty in her hands. 'An incisive portrayal of North Korea's "princess", Kim Yo Jong, but also a chilling portrait of a family dynasty that has oppressed and exploited North Korea for generation after generation' - Max Boot, Washington Post columnist, author and senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

This timely book offers an in-depth analysis of the intersection between populism and corruption, addressing phenomena that have been, so far, largely treated separately. Bringing together two dynamic and well-established fields of study, it proposes a theoretical framework for the study of populism and corruption in order to update our understanding of specific forms of each in a variety of socio-political settings. International contributors consider the simultaneous growth of populist rhetoric and political corruption, suggesting systematic methods for analysing the interconnection between them. Chapters further examine the effects of socio-political and historical contexts, outlining histories of political scandals and anti-corruption crusades. Taking a cross-national perspective, the book provides case study analyses of the corruption-populism intersection under diverse political systems including Brazil, France, Israel, Mexico and the USA. Raising critical questions for future research into the connections between the fields, Populism and Corruption offers crucial insights for scholars, researchers and students of political science, sociology and law, particularly those interested in contemporary populist movements. It will also benefit practitioners hoping to act on recent trends in political organizing and policymakers eager to combat political corruption.

Based on 12 years of research on corruption across the globe, this book presents four empirical case studies which illustrate the cultural, cognitive, and social implications of corruption. Davide Torsello examines the socio-institutional, organizational, and cognitive-hermeneutical aspects of the cultural theory model of corruption. This insightful book proposes an innovative theoretical framework on how the notion of culture can be used to understand corruption as an inexplicable yet resilient phenomenon. Chapters examine the hermeneutical, cultural, and social aspects of corruption, the unravelling political–business corruption in contemporary Japan, and the relationship between organizational culture and corruption. Torsello advises on how to deal with corruption by asking questions that have often been ignored in mainstream literature and suggests that the investigation of corruption must focus on larger societal fields, rather than more limited individual–organizational ones, although ultimately the decision to indulge or not in such a criminal act is of the individual and reflects their own degree of self-awareness. Illustrating multidimensional perspectives on mainstream theories of corruption, this book will be essential reading for students and scholars in cultural sociology, political studies, public administration and management, and public policy. It will also be beneficial for practitioners working in criminology, local and national governance, politics, and social policy.

This book deals with large-scale, systemic corruption, a phenomenon that it identifies as part of the political landscape in most, if not all, societies of the contemporary world. While the analysis is grounded in the political thought of earlier thinkers, especially Edmund Burke, and integrates the insights of several modern analysts of corruption, the volume offers a new, updated theoretical perspective on the topic. This perspective reflects deep concerns with corruption in a world facing accelerated social transition, increased economic polarization, and growing distrust toward political elites in many countries. This book approaches corrupt practices both theoretically and empirically, offering the perspectives of scholars who come to the topic from different traditions and cultures. It contains the collective efforts of members of the Research Committee on Political Finance and Public Corruption of the International Political Science Association. In formulating a comprehensive approach on corruption, the volume offers insights in regard to new developments in the United States, in Middle Eastern countries (especially in the wake of the Arab Spring), in several European counties (Austria, Italy, Spain), as well as in the People's Republic of China. The analysis goes beyond the traditional legal definitions of corruption or purely economic views of it and focuses more broadly on institutional, cultural, and normative dimensions of this globally important phenomenon.

Aid agencies increasingly consider anti-corruption activities important for economic development and poverty reduction in developing countries. In the first major comparative study of work by the World Bank, the European Commission and the UNDP to help governments in fragile states counter corruption, Jesper Johnson finds significant variance in strategic direction and common failures in implementation. In a refreshing departure from existing literature on corruption, Anti-Corruption Strategies in Fragile States takes a public administration perspective, studying the role of organisational factors in the success of anti-corruption strategies. It is widely acknowledged that governance and anti-corruption interventions play a crucial role in reducing fragility and building legitimate and resilient institutions. Policy makers have re-framed development goals for fragile states to achieve stability by addressing their special characteristics: weak institutions and governance; low capacity and legitimacy in government; and vulnerability to violence. This book shows how anti-corruption and state-building policies are often disconnected or incoherent, and how executional challenges prevent strategies from translating into results. This book will be of interest to researchers and students studying (anti-)corruption, aid, international organisations or fragile states. It will be an invaluable resource for staff in aid agencies and NGOs in the fields of governance, accountability and transparency.

An intimate account of one family's astonishing bravery in the face of brutality, as well as perhaps the outside world's only real glimpse of what it is like to live inside the terror of Mugabe's Zimbabwe Ben Freeth has an extraordinary story to tell. Like that of many white farmers, his family's land was "reclaimed" by Mugabe's government for redistribution--but Ben's family fought back. Appealing to international law, they instigated a suit against Mugabe's government in the SADC, the Southern African equivalent of NATO. The case was deferred time and again while Mugabe's men applied political pressure to have the case thrown out. But after Freeth and his parents-in-law were abducted and beaten within inches of death in 2008, the SADC deemed any further delay to be an obstruction of justice. The case was heard, and successful on all counts. But the story doesn't end there--in 2009, the family farm was burned to the ground. The fight for justice in Zimbabwe is far from over; this book is for anyone who wants to see into the heart of one of today's hardest places, and how human dignity flourishes even in the most adverse circumstances.