Nepotism
|
Part of a series of articles on
Discrimination |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General forms | ||||||
|
Ageism · Caste · Classism |
||||||
| Specific forms | ||||||
|
||||||
| Manifestations | ||||||
|
Blood libel · Compulsory sterilization |
||||||
| Policies | ||||||
|
Discriminatory Anti-discriminatory Related |
||||||
| International law | ||||||
|
CDE · CEDAW · CERD · CRPD · ILO C100 · ILO C111 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR |
||||||
| Other forms | ||||||
|
Adultcentrism · Afrocentrism |
||||||
| Related topics | ||||||
|
Abuse · Bigotry · Diversity · Eugenics |
||||||
|
|
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives or friends, with no regard to merit.[1] The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos (meaning "nephew" or "grandchild").
Contents |
Types of nepotism
Papal
Nepotism gained its name after the church practice in the Middle Ages, when some Catholic popes and bishops, who had taken vows of chastity, and therefore usually had no children of their own, gave their nephews such positions of preference as were often accorded by fathers to son.[2]
Several popes elevated nephews and other relatives to the cardinalate. Often, such appointments were a means of continuing a papal "dynasty".
For instance, Pope Callixtus III, head of the Borgia family, made two of his nephews Cardinals; one of them, Rodrigo, later used his position as a Cardinal as a stepping stone to the papacy, becoming Pope Alexander VI.[3] Alexander then elevated Alessandro Farnese, his mistress's brother, to the cardinalate; Farnese would later go on to become Pope Paul III.[4]
Paul also engaged in nepotism, appointing, for instance, two nephews, aged fourteen and sixteen, as cardinals. The practice was finally ended when Pope Innocent XII issued the bull Romanum decet Pontificem, in 1692.[2] The papal bull prohibited popes in all times from bestowing estates, offices, or revenues on any relative, with the exception that one qualified relative (at most) could be made a Cardinal.
Political
Nepotism is a common accusation in politics when the relative of a powerful figure ascends to similar power seemingly without appropriate qualifications. The British English expression "Bob's your uncle" is thought to have originated when Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, promoted his nephew, Arthur Balfour, to the esteemed post of Chief Secretary for Ireland in what was widely seen as an act of nepotism.
Examples
Australia
Anna Bligh, who won the 2008 Queensland State election has been accused of nepotism by giving her husband Greg Withers a bureaucratic position.[5]
Belgium
Over the past decade, criticism has been growing over the creation of political dynasties in Belgium, in which all of the traditional parties have been involved. This phenomenon has been explained by the fact that prominent party members control the ranking of candidates on party lists for elections and a candidate's place on a list determines whether or not he or she is elected. Another justification for the phenomenon is the importance of name recognition for collecting votes.[6]
- Tom Dehaene, the son of former prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, became a member of the provincial council for the Christian Democrats at age 26
- Jean-Jacques De Gucht, the son of former minister and current European Commissioner for Trade Policy Karel De Gucht, was placed at the top of the electoral list for the Flemish Liberals in the 2007 federal elections for the region of East Flanders and subsequent appointment to the Senate at age 27.[7]
- Freya Van den Bossche, the daughter of former minister Luc Van den Bossche, a member of the Flemish socialists, was appointed the youngest minister in Belgian history at age 28.[8]
- Melchior Wathelet Jr., the son of Melchior Wathelet Sr. who was minister in several Belgian and Walloon governments and the mayor of Verviers, is currently the junior minister of the budget, asylum and immigration, and family policy, became the leader of the French-speaking Christian Democract fraction in the Belgian parliament at age 26. [1]
- Bruno Tobback, the son of former minister and mayor of Leuven Louis Tobback, a member of the Flemish socialists, became minister for the environment in the federal government at age 34
- Mathias De Clerq, the grandson of former minister Willy De Clercq.[9]
- Alexander De Croo, the son of former speaker of the Belgian parliament Herman De Croo, ran for the leadership of his father's party Open VLD at age 33.[10]
- Maya Detiege the daughter of former mayor of Antwerp Leona Detiège, who herself is the daughter of the former mayor of Antwerp Frans Detiège.[6]
France
- In October 2009 Jean Sarkozy is about to become EPAD's director despite lacking any real diploma yet and having no professional experience.[11]
- In September 2009 Pierre Sarkozy, first son of President Nicolas Sarkozy, asked SCPP for a financial help (of around 10000€) towards an 80000€ artistic project. Pierre Sarkozy not being an SCPP member, financing was automatically rejected. Following the refusal, he went to the Élysée which lead to an Élysée counsel contacting the SCPP, and SCPP president Marc Guez assuring the issue would soon be favorably resolved.[12][13] According to Abeille Music president and SCPP member Yves Riesel, however, this will not happen as SCPP's financial helps have been restricted to members only for months.[14]
Romania
- Elena Basescu, the 28 year-old daughter of President Traian Basescu, was elected in 2009 in the European Parliament, despite the fact the she had no significant professional or political experience. Although she was an independent candidate, her candidacy was supported by the staff of the Democrat-Liberal Party (PD-L) -- her father's party. Elena Udrea, a key member of PD-L, "donated" the campaign headquarters and Monica Iacob Ridzi, the Minister of Sports, openly spent government money to help Elena Basescu achieve her candidacy.[15]
- Honorius Prigoana, the old son of Romanian mogul Silviu Prigoana, was the candidate for the post of deputy in the elections for the Romanian Parliament, despite the fact the he had no significant professional or political experience. If he had won the elections, Honorius would have been the youngest deputy in parliament in the history of Romania.
Greece
- George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, was firstly elected MP in 1981 with PASOK, the party led by his father, Andreas, and has been included in numerous cabinets under either his father or Kostas Simitis.
India
- The Nehru-Gandhi Family has shown a strong tendency for nepotism, as manifested through dynastic politics. A recent example is the rise of Rahul Gandhi.
Ireland
Many Irish politicians "inherit" seats in the Oireachtas (Parliament) from family members: a list is given at Families in the Oireachtas.
Spain
Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980 to 2001; his son, Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2001, while his daughter, Maria Teresa Samaranch Salisachs, has been president of the Spanish Federation of Sports on Ice since 2005.[16]
Trinidad and Tobago
Prime Minister Patrick Manning appointed his unelected wife Hazel Manning to the Cabinet for two consecutive terms, first as Minister of Education and currently as Minister of Local Government.[17]
Venezuela
President Hugo Chavez and Cilia Flores, president of the Venezuela National Assembly, are also known for their influences to get family members in the government. Flores managed to place relatives in as many as nine of sixty permanent positions at the National Assembly- three siblings, two nephews, a cousin, the mother of that cousin, her mother-in-law and an aunt.[18]
United Kingdom
- On 13 February 2003, James Murdoch became a director of BSkyB. Later that year, he controversially became CEO of BSkyB, in which News Corporation owns a controlling minority stake. His appointment sparked accusations of nepotism, with some commentators and shareholders feeling that the job had not been opened to outsiders and that Murdoch was too young and inexperienced to run one of the UK's top companies.
United States
- Around 30 family members or relatives of President Ulysses S. Grant prospered financially in some way from either government appointments or employment.[19]
- Robert F. Kennedy was selected to be U. S. Attorney General by his brother, U. S. President John F. Kennedy in 1960–1961, a position Robert took and held before he was later elected senator.[20]
In entertainment
Outside of national politics, accusations of "nepotism" are made in instances of prima facie favoritism to relatives, such as:
- The casting of Tori Spelling as Donna Martin in Beverly Hills, 90210 received much criticism. Her father Aaron Spelling was the executive producer.
- Peaches Geldof's role as magazine editor in an MTV reality show - produced by a company owned by her father Bob Geldof.[21] In a sketch of The Kevin Bishop Show, which frequently has less-than-flattering fake perfume adverts for celebrities, Peaches Geldof got one - "Nepotism, the smell of Peaches Geldof". Before this, a mock voice said "I'm a fashion model, a TV presenter, and I'm a journalist as well...did I mention my dad's Bob Geldof?"
- One-time Guardian contributor Max Gogarty has also been accused of taking advantage of family contacts to achieve success disproportionate to his ability; his father Paul Gogarty is a frequent travel writer for the newspaper.[citation needed]
- The Coppola Family of Hollywood includes many distinguished filmmakers. The careers of Sofia Coppola, Nicolas Cage and Jason Schwartzman have been attributed to aid by director Francis Ford Coppola who cast his daughter Sofia in The Godfather Part III.[22][23] Cage changed his last name in order to avoid such charges.[24]
- Jaden Smith played the lead role in the remake of The Karate Kid. His parents, movie stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were co-producers of the movie.
- In 2010, film student Cody Gifford got a dream summer intern job, reviewing movies for NBC's The Today Show, co-hosted by his mother, Kathie Lee Gifford.
- Many Reality Television stars became celebrities because of their family connections: Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Brooke Hogan, Nicole Richie, Kelly Osbourne, and Brody Jenner just to name a few.
Social and economic effects
Nepotism and cronyism can have short- and long-term effects on a society, depending on the extent of the take-up and social acceptability of these practices.
Areas in which, it is believed, nepotism has negative societal effects:
- the civil service
- intergovernmental relations (ambassadors, civil-service attached personnel)
See also
|
|
References
- ↑ Modern Language Association (MLA):"nepotism." The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. 10 Aug. 2009. Dictionary.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Article Nepotism". New Catholic Dictionary. http://catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd05726.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ↑ "Article Pope Alexander VI". New Catholic Dictionary. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01289a.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ↑ "Article Pope Paul III". Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11579a.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
- ↑ Des Houghton, June 28, 2008. "Anna Bligh's Labor in trouble in the polls". Couriermail, Retrieved August 17, 2009
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Politiek België is familiezaak - Buitenland - Telegraaf.nl [24 uur actueel, ook mobiel] [buitenland]
- ↑ http://www.nieuws.be/nieuws/“Zonder_zijn_naam_had_Jean-Jacques_De_Gucht_nooit_op_de_lijst_gestaan”_29a8f63c.aspx
- ↑ "Can women enter the final bastion -- the all-male boardroom". Time. 2003-09-22. http://www.time.com/time/europe/gender/story.html. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ↑ De Standaard Online - Willy De Clercq is zijn geheugen kwijt
- ↑ Alexander De Croo wil voorzitter Open Vld worden - Gva.be
- ↑ Poll shows majority against job for Sarkozy's son
- ↑ Népotisme et Sarkozysme, acte II (màj)
- ↑ Après Jean, un coup de pouce de l'Elysée pour Pierre Sarkozy
- ↑ Après Jean, l'Elysée se met au service de Pierre Sarkozy
- ↑ How daughter of Romanian President Basescu will be elected MEP as an independent with help from Basescu's supporting party
- ↑ "La larga carrera de un hombre polifacético", El País, 21 April 2010, http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/larga/carrera/hombre/polifacetico/elpepudep/20100421elpepudep_9/Tes. (Spanish)
- ↑ http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=161576793
- ↑ Nacional y Política - eluniversal.com
- ↑ Lawrence M. Salinger (2005). Encyclopedia of white-collar & corporate crime, Volume 2. 2. pp. 374–375. http://books.google.com/books?id=P41ij0GoFL4C&pg=PA374&lpg=PA374&dq=James+Watson+Webb+Scandal+in+Brazil&source=bl&ots=eQmMm_mjlj&sig=9Q9ruRQwgBYJSuNxUBzUZQDpmAU&hl=en&ei=seMyS6DDCInisQPEzIHOBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=James%20Watson%20Webb%20Scandal%20in%20Brazil&f=false.
- ↑ Walter R. Mears and Hal Buell: The Kennedy Brothers: A Legacy in Photographs. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc. September 2009 ISBN 1-60376-157-8
- ↑ http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/showbiz/showbiznews/2008/03/16/peaches-geldof-bags-tv-reality-show-as-magazine-editor-98487-20353319/ Peaches Geldof bags TV reality show as magazine editor
- ↑ EXTRA: Nepotism in the Director's Chair at Hollywood.com
- ↑ Nothing is true, everything is permitted - Coppola nepotism hate
- ↑ Nicolas Cage - Biography
Further reading
- American Calendar (Fall 1973) in American Quarterly 25.4 (Oct. 1973):493-96.
- Nepotism: is it back? New Statesman
External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||