Martin Gainsborough (2010) Continuity in patronage and nepotism

'In relation to so-called 'non-Weberian' features of the state - patronage, personal relations, and centrality of money in politics - there is scarcely any evidence of change in the reform era with such features as entrenched as ever. This is as true for set piece political events, such as the five-year Party Congresses when patronage in the form of public office is circulated, as it is for citizens' everyday dealings with the bureaucracy where connections and the ability to pay are crucial in order to get things done (Gainsborough, 2007, 2009b). Moreover, nepotism rather than meritocracy is the norm in appointments to the government and civil service, which are themselves governed by informal, discretionary rules rather than 'rule of law' (Salomon, 2008). It is, of course, worth considering whether there are some subtle differences between such practices today and in the pre-reform period. For example, some would say that the sums of money involved in paying off office-holders are much larger today and that some practices which might have raised eyebrows a decade or more ago do not today. However, I would argue that we are dealing with questions of scale or extent here and the basic practices are as they have always been (Gainsborough et al., 2009).'

Martin Gainsborough (2010) Present but not Powerful: Neoliberalism, the State, and Development in Vietnam Link