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and
the
Evolufion
of al,state,andlocalgovernments
anticorruption
project includes
the20thcentury.
throughout
theideology,
The
laws,regulations,
and
administrative andinter-
strategies andintra-organizational
checks,
Public
ArnencanAdniinistraton balances,andinstitutions
andpunishing official
aimedat defining,
corruption.
identifying,
Thisproject
preventing,
hasbeencumulative.
Eachnewstageoftheanticorruption project
ratchets-upthequantity
andintensityofcorruption preventionin government andincreases
Frank Hamilton
Anechiarico, College theproject's
impact on publicadministration.Theabsence ofscan-
James
B.Jacobs,
NewYork
University ofLaw
School dalsis attributed
to anticorruptionstrategies in
already place;the
occurrenceofscandalsiscitedas proof
thatadditional
anticorruption
laws,administrative andorganizational
strategies, are
prophylactics
Whathasbeentheimpact ofcorruptioncontrol on
efforts needed.
thedevelopment andoperation ofpublicadministration? In thisarticle,
wedescribe theevolution oftheanticorruption pro-
FrankAnechiarico andJames B.Jacobs describetheevolu- ject,especially
itsassumptions, andgoals.From19thcen-
ideologies,
tionofanticorruptionn overfour
project" erassincethe tury civilservice
reformerstocontemporary inspectorsgeneral,prose-
19thcentury. Eacheraischaracterized bya particular cutors, comptrollers,andloss-prevention specialists,
pursuitofthe
visionofcorruption controlandeachvision hashadafor- publicgoodhasincluded an imageofgovernmental operations free
mative onthepractice
effect ofpublicadministration and from corruption.Despite the expansion of the definitionofcorrup-
itsdevelopment as academic discipline.Theimpact
tion,multiplicationofanticorruption andintensification
strategies, of
ofthe
control techniques,
moreintervention always seemsto be required.
anticorruption
project iscumulative;eachgeneration of
Weargue thata new,panoptic visionofcorruption controlnowinflu-
reformershasaddedrulesprocedures, andinstitutions. ences
andshapes public while
administration; itcanbetraced toearli-
Mostrecently,a panopticc" visionofcorruption-proofgov- eranticorruption reforms,ithasa distinct agendaandhasa distinct
ernment haspromoted corruption
controltoa toppriority, impact ontheoperation ofAmerican government.
competingsuccessfully withothergovernmentfinctionsfor
Ourobservations aredrawn fromthelargescholarly literature
on
influence
and resources. Theverysuccessofthecontempo- corruption andfrom ourownon-going empirical researchin New
raryanticorruption projecthastriggereda powerfulrevi- York City.Because ofNewYork City'sgargantuan government, tradi-
sionist
critiquethathighlights thetensionbetween corrup- tionofmachine politics,
visibility
in themedia,andcorpsofgood
tioncontrol
andadministrative efficiency
andeffectiveness.government reformers,ithasalways beena laboratory forcorruption-
Thepanoptic vision, insomecases,hascometodominate control experiments (Anechiarico andJacobs, 1992,pp. 580-603).
thebusiness
ofgovernment; ithasalsocontributed tothe However, ourobservationsaboutNewYorkCityshould berelevantto
antibureaucraticsentiment ofthecurrent reinvention public administrationmore generally,
particularlylargestateand local
movement.
governments.
Perhapssurprisingly,
whilemunicipal corruption
hasreceived a
gooddealofattentionfrom political
scientists
andurbanspecialists,
theconnection
between anticorruption
reform andpublicadministra-
tionhasnotbeensystematically
examined. Empirical
studies
ofurban
publicadministration
hardlypointto,muchlessemphasize,theextent
to whichgovernment is organizedto preventpublicofficials
from
engaginginbribery,
embezzlement,nepotism, favoritism,
conflicts
of
interest,
andeventheappearance ofthese species
ofdishonesty.
To a
significant
extent,
theorganization,
rules,
andenergyofurban govern-
ment arefocused
onsurveilling
andcontrolling officials
rather
thanon
theproduction
ofgovernment
outputs.
Public
Administration
Review. September/October
1994
Vol.54,No.5 465
Perceived of
control
Partisan Partisan, pathology
unprofessional InadequateorganizationalInadequatemonitoring Bureaucratic
Causesof personnel administration controls
Corruption
Problem
of
Implications Peerenforcement Enforced ofeffi-Oversight
standards and Strong
ofagencies and
investigative debureaucra-
Decentralized
forPublic norms; controls ciency
personal spanofcontrol
appropriate auditing
agencies deempha-
tizedstructures,
Administration control
sizecorruption
Weidentifyfour ofcorruption
visions pro- thehighest
antipatronage,
control: public andpublic
principles, should
servants beexemplary
management,
scientific
gressive, andpanoptic.1 We alsoconsider a citizens. Patronage wasinimicaltoeverything thereformers thought
ofthepolicies
critique
revisionist implementingthesevisions.Revi- thepublicservice shouldbe;itcorrupted themoralfibre ofgovern-
although
sionism, appearing
first era,hasbeen ment
in theProgressive anddisgraced American democracy.
in reaction
articulated
forcefully to theemergence ofthemodern The movement to endthespoilssystem3 and to createan Ameri-
panopticvision.Although thesefourvisionsofcorruption control beganin earnest duringReconstruction. As legalhis-
can civilservice
significantly theycorrespond
overlap, stagesof torianWilliamNelsonpointsout,theattackon thespoilssystem
to parallel
roughly was
American publicadministration. the
reconstructs
Thus,thisarticle of a powerfulmoral movement thatbegan with the
thesecondphase
thathastaken
discourse placeinpublic andinthelarg- abolitionof slavery
administration (Nelson,1982,p. 121). SenatorSchurz'sreflec-
overtheproblem
ersociety ofgovernmental thepossibili-tionson themoralimpetus
corruption, reform
ofcivilservice makesthispoint:
it,andthemost
tyofsolving efficacious strategies.
remedial
theDepartments
whether
The question are
at Washington
A vision,as we areusingit,is a paradigm or weltanschauung managed wellorbadly, is,inproportion to thewholeprob-
(worldview) assumptions
thatincludes aboutthenature andcontrol of questionafterall. Neither
lem,an insignificant doesthe
humanbehavior andtheroleandpotential ofgovernment institu- whether
question ourcivilservice as itoughtto
isas efficient
tions.Thevision thatnowpredominates inlargegovernments inthe be,coverthewholeground.The mostimportant pointto
UnitedStatesis panoptic.It assumes thatofficialswillsuccumb to mymindis,howcanweremove thatelementofdemoraliza-
corrupt opportunitiesand advocates comprehensive surveillance, tionwhichthenowprevailing modeofdistributing has
office
investigation, It isbuilton 100years
strategies.
andtarget-hardening intothebodypolitic
introduced (Nelson,1982,p. 121;Ban-
ofideology,rules, legaltechniques,
institutions, andreformist ideas. 1913,p. 123).
croft,
Although thepowerful setoflawenforcement techniques thatmake
upthepanoptic aredistinct
vision from anticorruption
earlier efforts, The desireto changethenatureofleadership in American govern-
theyreinforcemany ofthegoalsthatwerearticulated bytheProgres- ment centeredon what Schurz calleddemoralization,the moral debase-
sivesatthebeginningofthe20thcentury andsubsequently elaboratedmentofcharacter bypatronage. Creating a civilservicewould"make
andexpanded generations
bysuccessive ofreformers. Likeitsprede- activepoliticsoncemoreattractive tomenofself-respect andhighpatri-
cessors,thepanopticvisionhascriticalimplications forgovernment otic (Schurz,
aspirations" 1893, p. 121; Rosenbloom, 1985, p. 7).
organizationandpublicadministration. Ifanything, itsimplications JuliusBing,anotherimportant proponent of civilservicereform,
areevenmoresignificant,because itsadherentsurgea muchbroader clearly sawtheantipatronage campaign as a moralimperative.
definitionofcorruptionandmuchgreater authority forcorruption-
controlinstitutions. Atpresent,thereis no organizationsavethatofcorruption;
nosystem savethatofchaos;no testofintegritysavethatof
savethatofintrigue...we
notestofqualification
partisanship;
of
Vision
TheAntipatronage haveto dealwitha wide-spread
countryinthecollection
evil,whichdefrauds the
that
oftaxeson a scaleso gigantic
Corruption 1870-1900
Control, thecommissioners ofrevenue, andTrea-
assessors,
collectors,
suryofficers- atleastthoseofthemwhoarehonest-bow
Civilservicereformers ofthe19thcentury
in thelastquarter theirheadsinshameanddespair.We havetodealwithan
thatgovernment
believed couldbe managedforthepublicgoodby evilthatismanifesthereandthere andeverywhere (Hoogen-
rather
experts thanbypatronage, andgraft.Corruption
cronyism, boom,1961,p. 1;Bing,1868,pp.233,236).
andgraft,accordingto civilservice likeCarlSchurz
reformers and
LeonardWhite,wastheresultoftheparty-dominated, informal, The desireto transformgovernment governmental
by reforming
organization
unprofessional to personnel
According
ofurbanadministration.2 administration move-
poweredone of themostsignificant
publicservice
thereformers, of
andshowcase
shouldbetherepository mentsin the of
history Americanpublicgovernment.The that
belief
Visions
ofCorruption
Control
andtheEvolution
ofAmerican
Public
Administration 467
VisionsofCorruption
Control
andtheEvolution
ofAmerican
PublicAdministration 469
470 Review
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1994
Visions
ofCorruption
Control
andtheEvolution
ofAmerican
Public
Administration 471
Notes
wefollowed
thesevisions,
1. In identifying Kaufman's
Herbert workof30
seminal erawasan agein whichconcern
Thepost-Progressive useand
forthepractical
yearsago in whichhe identifiesthreeconflicting public
valuesthatdominate techniques
ofadministrative
application extendedbeyond ornorma-
anytheoretical
eras.
insuccessive
administration tivestandard Attention
forapplication.... turned to morenarrowtechnicalprob-
lemsratherthanbroader
concerns" 1988,p. 66).
(Stever,
In theevolution ofstateandlocalgovernments
ofthestructure inthe
element
theanticorruption
7. In isolating management,
in scientific Gulickfound
UnitedStates, a searchforan accommodation
thereis discernible ofAdminis-
supportina section
ofWoodrow Wilson's famous essay,"TheStudy
amongthree representativeness;
values(orobjectives): non-
technical,
from
tration," whichGulickquotes:
partisancompetence; andleadership.Thefirstrefersto thedemand
forelection bysome(atfirst)
ofpublicofficials andmany(later)or Allsovereignsaresuspicious oftheir ..... Howis suspicion
servants to
innovation)
all(a twentieth-century
virtually adultcitizensoverwhom beallayed byknowledge? inallrelations
Trustis strength oflifeand,
theofficials Thesecond
jurisdiction.
exercise tothedemand
refers for as itis theoffice
oftheconstitutionalreformertocreateconditionsof
having
officials trainingandexperience themforthejobs
qualifying oftheadministrative
so it is theoffice
trustfulness, organizer to fit
theydo,andtotheinsistence thattheir decisions
official andactions administrationwithconditions ofclear-cut whichwill
responsibility
be basedon technical rather
considerations
andprofessional thanon insure trustworthiness(QuotedinGulick,1941,p.vii).
partisanpoliticalpremises.The third to thedemand
refers thatthe 8. Anofficial oftheNewYorkCityDepartment ofInvestigationexplainedtousthat
actionsanddecisions becoordinated
ofofficials atsomecentral point thedepartment's ofcorruption
definition sincethe1970sincluded the"subversion
so thatgovernment programsarereasonablyconsistentandefficient offairness, andcommon
ofdistributive justice,andofequalopportunity." Under
(Kaufman, 1963,p. 34). evenacknowledged
thisdefinition, error leadingtomaldistributivewastewouldbe
Ourworkalsoparallelsa morerecent typology byWilbur Rich."CivilService corrupt.
reformers divided
have...been intothree groups: thegenteelreformers,theacademic 9. A recent historyoftheNewYorkCityDepartment ofInvestigationconcludeditis
andthefiscal
reformers, managers" (Rich,1982,p. 5). withthefight againstcorruptionthat"thedefense ofdemocracy andthestruggle
fora decentlifebeginsandcontinues"(Winslow andBurke, 1992,p. 87).
2. TheconventionalviewoftheProgressives oriented
asorganizationally ispresented by 10. In DisciplineandPunish, MichelFoucault arguedthatthepanopticons architecture
R.H.Wiebe(1967). A critique ofthisviewholdsthatwhileorganization maybe andoperation wereparadigmaticofa 19thcentury vision ofa disciplinary
society
thelegacy oftheProgressives,it is an ironicone,sincetheir method washighly inwhich monitoring,
surveillance, andcontrol wouldmakeundetected deviance a
(McCormick,
andsituational
moralistic 1981,pp.247-274). practical 1979,p. 204).However,
(Foucault,
impossibility perhaps Panop-
thefirst
3. The statement fromwhich the system getsit name, "To the victors
belong the builtbyJeremy Bentham'sbrother, wasnota prison, buta Russianfactory
ticon,
iscredited
spoils," toSenator William Marcy around 1850(Hoogenboom, 1961,p. (Zuboff,1988,pp.320-322).
6). 11. DennisF. Thompson that,
argues inlight ofthescandal surroundingtheKeating
4. In 1976,inElrodv.Burns, andin 1990,inRutan Party
v. Republican the
ofIllinois, Five,thedefinition should
ofcorruption beexpanded toinclude "mediatedcorrup-
Courtheldunconstitutional(onFirst Amendment grounds)hiring, transfer, tion"which
firing, "linkstheactsofindividual toeffects
officials on thedemocraticpro-
promotion, onpartisan
orrecall affiliationforallbuta few,topadministrativejobs. cess"(Thompson, 1993,pp.369).
5. Goodnow's viewwasthat"Assoon,however, astheadministration became some- 12. DOI TableofArrests byyear.
thiscontrol
whatcentralized, ofthepolitical parties becameunnecessary,except to 13. In TheFederalist someofthefounders argued thata plethoraofruleswasuselessat
thehighest sincethese
officers, couldcontrol morefully theactionsoftheirsubor- bestandpossibly quitedangeroustoliberty. Fortherelation offederalist
theoryto
andbeingthemselves
dinates, subject toparty control,might bringabouttheneces- urban government, seeBishandOstrom (1973).
saryharmony inthegovernmental system" (Goodnow, 1990,p. 129). 14. TheGenerally Accepted Government AuditStandard (GAGAS)issuedbyGAO
6. Onestudy ofthepost-Progressiveperiod found that"[t]hepromising development havebeenadopted byNewYorkCityandmany otherstateandlocalgovernments.
ofpublic asa profession
administration during theProgressiveerahasdissipated.... 15. Bycorruption againstthegovernment wemeanfraud perpetrated bycontractors,
472 Review
Administration
Public Vol.54,No.5
1994
* September/October
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