"Twisted Transfers": Discursive Constructions of Corruption in Ancient Greece and Rome

“扭曲的转移”：古希腊和罗马腐败的话语建构

基本信息

批准号：
AH/T012838/2
负责人：
Marta Garcia Morcillo
金额：
$ 8.45万
依托单位：
Durham University
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2023
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2023 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT012838%2F2
关键词：
Twisted Transfers Discursive Constructions Corruption

项目摘要

What is corruption? Like trust, corruption is one of those things in life that we think we know, we steadily discuss, yet we struggle to define. This is so because the concept is applied to various fields of human (inter)action, but also because purely legalistic, and thus essentialist, definitions are often insufficient to capture its complexity. There are both actions that conform to legal norms but are perceived within their societal context as forms of corruption, and illegal actions which may be socially acceptable within specific groups and contexts. Corruption requires the participation of at least two people. It involves a transfer of material or immaterial things, which is identified as legally or morally wrong by a mistrusting observer. This project will analyse the different forms of transfer using identifiers from the social sciences and anthropology: gift, commerce, and transfers of the third type (t3t). T3t describe a form of asymmetric power relationship between a giver and a receiver, following the terminology coined by Alain Testart (2007). The project's aim is to understand why and how these forms of transfer could be (and are) presented in discourse as "twisted" and, therefore, as acts of corruption. Was the notorious corrupt Roman governor of Sicily, Gaius Verres, really deserving of this label? While Cicero tried to prove he was, Verres claimed that he was "just" making and receiving gifts. Discursive constructions allow us to move beyond the definition of corruption in law in order to investigate their interaction with specific cultural, political and economic contexts. As discourse, the "twisted transfer" is embedded in normative values and ideals of correct behaviour, as well as in stereotypes about specific social classes or professional groups. Within this frame, we will concentrate on Graeco-Roman Antiquity, from the law courts of classical Athens to the ethics of Byzantine diplomacy, drawing out case studies that still strongly influence the formation of later discourses in Western societies today. The relative abundance and heterogeneous types of sources preserved provide a unique corpus of material that makes it possible to scrutinise thoroughly the "twisted transfers" that shaped ancient Greek and Roman cultures, mentalities and discourses. Moving away from the traditional legalistic perspectives, "Twisted Transfers" proposes an innovative, constructivist approach not yet fully explored in historical studies of corruption. The topicality of discussions on ancient and modern corruption will also allow us to develop a relevant outreach programme with the aim of promoting wider public engagement. The numerous kinds of expertise required, the distinctive approaches of different academic cultures, and the extremely varied ways in which corruption is addressed in public discourse today both in Germany and in the UK make international cooperation mandatory for the success of the project.

什么是腐败？就像信任一样，腐败是生活中我们自以为了解、不断讨论但难以定义的事物之一。之所以如此，是因为这个概念适用于人类（互动）行为的各个领域，而且还因为纯粹的法律主义和本质主义定义往往不足以捕捉其复杂性。既有符合法律规范但在其社会背景下被视为腐败形式的行为，也有在特定群体和背景下可能被社会接受的非法行为。腐败至少需要两个人的参与。它涉及物质或非物质事物的转移，被不信任的观察者认为在法律上或道德上是错误的。该项目将使用社会科学和人类学的标识符来分析不同形式的转移：礼物、商业和第三种类型的转移（t3t）。 T3t 描述了给予者和接受者之间的一种不对称权力关系，遵循 Alain Testart (2007) 创造的术语。该项目的目的是了解为什么以及如何这些形式的转移可能（并且）在话语中被描述为“扭曲的”，从而被描述为腐败行为。臭名昭著的腐败罗马西西里总督盖乌斯·维雷斯真的配得上这个标签吗？当西塞罗试图证明他是的时候，维雷斯声称他“只是”制作和接受礼物。话语结构使我们能够超越法律中腐败的定义，以便调查腐败与特定文化、政治和经济背景的相互作用。作为话语，“扭曲的转移”植根于规范价值观和正确行为的理想，以及对特定社会阶层或专业群体的刻板印象中。在这个框架内，我们将集中研究希腊罗马古代，从古典雅典的法庭到拜占庭外交的伦理，并绘制仍然对当今西方社会后来的话语形成产生强烈影响的案例研究。保存下来的相对丰富和异质的来源类型提供了独特的材料语料库，使彻底审查塑造古希腊和罗马文化、心态和话语的“扭曲的转移”成为可能。与传统的法律主义观点不同，“扭曲的转移”提出了一种创新的、建构主义的方法，该方法尚未在腐败历史研究中得到充分探索。关于古代和现代腐败的讨论的话题性也将使我们能够制定相关的外展计划，以促进更广泛的公众参与。所需的多种专业知识、不同学术文化的独特方法以及当今德国和英国公共话语中解决腐败问题的极其多样化的方式，使得国际合作成为该项目成功的必要条件。