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.

The explosive, behind-the-scenes story of Donald Trump's high-stakes confrontation with Beijing, from an award-winning Washington Post columnist and peerless observer of the U.S.-China relationship Now with a new afterword featuring an interview with former President Trump There was no calm before the storm. Donald Trump's surprise electoral victory shattered the fragile understanding between the United States and China and immediately brought to a boil their long-simmering rivalry. By the time the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in Wuhan, Trump's love-hate relationship with Chinese president Xi Jinping had sparked a trade war, while Xi's aggression had pushed the world to the brink of a new Cold War. From award-winning Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, Chaos Under Heaven uncovers the explosive, behind-the-scenes story of how the Trump administration upended the U.S.-China relationship, with reverberations that will be shaking the world for years to come.

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.

Political Corruption and Democratic Governance explores the effects of political corruption on important aspects of democratic governing. Jongseok Woo and Eunjung Choi use a cross-national lens to analyze how political corruption influences different areas of politics and economics, including electoral outcomes, citizens' evaluations of democratic norms and values, economic development, distributional justice, and social and political trust in both developed and developing nations. While most works on political corruption focus on the causes of corruption, this book delves into various consequences of it. The discussion in each chapter engages both theoretical and empirical components of political corruption, introducing competing theoretical arguments on a given topic and puts them under rigorous empirical scrutiny. Each chapter involves large-N statistical analysis to make it truly global in scope and to overcome the limits of single (or small-N) case studies on political corruption. This book concludes with critical evaluations about anti-corruption efforts by various IGOs and NGOs and specific policy recommendations to deter corruption.