nepotism

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Cronyism or nepotism refers to an excessive advantage procurement by and for family members or other relatives (or close friends). Examples of this preference are the granting of unusually favorable contractual terms with one another or the omission of necessary checks on relatives at the expense of an institution or a company in which a family member holds a managerial position. Also shift can be a form of nepotism. The female form of cousin business is rarely used as a preference for female relatives and friends when filling vacancies, placing orders and the like without reference to professional suitability.

In Swabian dialects the term Vetterleswirtschaft is common, in Alemannic dialects Vetterliwirtschaft . In the case of favoritism , it is not family members but other people who are the beneficiaries of the benefit provided (see clientele policy ). In the Bavarian-speaking area , regardless of a family association, it is called Spezlwirtschaft ( Spezi, Spezl: "Freund"), in Austria Freunderlwirtschaft , in the Rhineland known as Klüngel .

Word origin

The term “nepotism” (from “ cousin ”, for the meaning and origin of the word see there) did not appear until the 20th century and is used more often than “nepotism” at the turn of the millennium.

The word "nepotism" is derived from the Latin nepōs (" grandchildren , great-grandchildren, nephew , descendant "). Comparable terms already exist in ancient Indian ( nápāt "descendant, grandchild, son") and in ancient Greek ( anepsiós "sibling child ; sibling son , nephew"). Nepos was on the one hand the specific name for a nephew (or grandson), on the other hand the name for descendants in general. In medieval Latin , Nepos denotes every relative without it being possible to infer the degree of relationship. In the French language the word comes as neveu (nephew), in English as nephew . In German colloquial language, the word Neveu or Nevö, derived from the Latin form nepotem , was used with mocking overtones, conveyed via French, until 1914 (until the campaign against words of French origin). The word nepot, derived from nepos , for a favored younger relative (mostly in politics) is out of date.

According to Friedrich Kluge's Etymological Dictionary of the German Language , the word “nephew” like Latin nepos can go back to Indo-European népōt (“grandchildren”, perhaps in the basic meaning “defenseless”). The meanings (Old High German nëvo , Middle High German nëve , from this early New High German nefe , nephew since the 17th century ) vary between “sister's son”, “brother son”, “grandson”, “cousin” and “ uncle ”.

history

Nepotism was and is there in and between ruling houses. Within the European aristocracy, there were always relationships across national borders, some of which came about through marriages of convenience or arranged marriages . These relationships also influenced the emergence and decay of alliances, alliances and coalitions.

Famous and notorious was the cardinals' economy practiced by bishops and popes in the Middle Ages and modern times . He experienced a great boost from the Avignon popes Clement V , John XXII. , Clement VI. and Innocent VI. in the 14th century. The high point reached the papal nepotism from the 15th to the 17th century when the papal relatives all subregions of the Papal States to fiefs were given to their own principalities to build (see nepotism at the Holy See ).

In France , the term népotisme is used for the dependencies and privileges resulting from joint academic or business careers, which in particular permeate the public service and the large, state-controlled, formally private sector (e.g. in the energy and supply industry, railways, film and culture).

Examples

The Trump family

Similar meaning:

  • Office patronage : unjustified preference for applicants in filling offices and positions, especially in the public service or academic sector
  • Seilschaft : informal groupings of people who mutually support their professional or other advancement
  • Clientelism : a system of unequal relationships of dependency in political apparatus
  • Kamarilla : party of favor, which exerts influence on the decisions of a ruler without authority or responsibility
  • legacy preference : preference for the children of alumni as an official selection criterion for applicants at US universities (especially the Ivy League)
  • cuñadismo ( Spanish , roughly "greatest of all brothers-in-law"): privileged position of a brother-in-law; The name is derived from the title el Generalísimo (about "greatest of all generals"), with which the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco was addressed and which went down as a slang term in Spanish when Franco began to give his brother-in-law Ramón Serrano Súñer to all decisions participate and favor him over royalists and other fascists.

See also

literature

  • Arne Karsten : Artists and Cardinals: On the patronage of Roman cardinal nephews in the 17th century. Doctoral thesis University of Berlin 2001. Böhlau u. a. 2003, ISBN 3-412-11302-6 .
  • Arne Karsten, Hillard von Thiessen (Ed.): Useful networks and corrupt clusters. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-525-36292-7 .

Web links

Wiktionary: nepotism  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Duden editors : nepotism. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Duden editors: Cousinenwirtschaft. Retrieved on March 3, 2020.
    Thomas Zorn: Hessen: “Cousinenwirtschaft”. In: Focus Online . August 10, 1998, accessed March 3, 2020.
  3. Word entry: nepotism. In: Digital dictionary of the German language . Retrieved March 3, 2020
  4. Word entry: nepotism. In: Digital dictionary of the German language . Retrieved March 3, 2020
  5. Friedrich Kluge , Alfred Götze : Etymological dictionary of the German language . 20th edition. Edited by Walther Mitzka . De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1967; Reprint (“21st unchanged edition”) ibid 1975, ISBN 3-11-005709-3 , p. 506: Neffe .
  6. ^ Günter Traxler: Philippa Strache as animal welfare officer: Freedom works. In: derStandard.at . September 8, 2018, accessed December 5, 2019 .
  7. Richard D. Kahlenberg: The direct route to Harvard - US universities prefer children of alumni . In: Le Monde diplomatique . No. 37/18 . WOZ Die Wochenzeitung, Zurich September 13, 2018, p. 22 .
  8. ^ Antony Beevor: La Guerre d'Espagne . 3. Edition. Éditions Calmann-Lévy, Paris 2011, ISBN 978-2-253-12092-6 , pp. 461 (translated by Jean-François Sené).