Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Siegel, Dina --- "Corruption and the Global Diamond Trade" [2011] ELECD 999; in Graycar, Adam; Smith, G. Russell (eds), "Handbook of Global Research and Practice in Corruption" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Handbook of Global Research and Practice in Corruption

Editor(s): Graycar, Adam; Smith, G. Russell

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849805018

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: Corruption and the Global Diamond Trade

Author(s): Siegel, Dina

Number of pages: 17

Extract:

12 Corruption and the global diamond
trade
Dina Siegel


INTRODUCTION

For many generations the social world of diamond traders was considered
as secretive and isolated. Emphasizing the value of their product, but
also trying to protect themselves from the risks outside, diamond traders
around the world created their own organization, their own rules and
codes of behavior, argot and rituals, in which they shared the common
values and norms, but also applied social control and justice mechanisms.
Trade diasporas in general, and diamond traders in particular, proved
the great importance of these mechanisms in the course of history. This
guaranteed their survival in a hostile society and their relative independ-
ence from local authorities. They based their activities on trust and intense
interpersonal relationships, they established worldwide networks, markets
and institutions and later they also introduced advanced technology and
increased their co-operation with state agencies.
The most rapid and significant changes in the diamond trade took place
at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, which shocked
the generations-long traditions and internal dynamics. One of the proc-
esses was the shift in the symbolism of a diamond. While diamonds have
symbolized love, passion and wealth since antiquity, in the last years of
the 20th century an attempt was made to change the meaning of diamonds
into a symbol of war, cruelty and misery. An example of this shift is the
so-called `blood diamonds'. The negative image of the diamond trade in
general ...