Political Abortion: The Study Of Political Corruption

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Recommended: Introduction to corruption

The study of corruption is problematic because the concept, in itself, is difficult to define and operationalize. Firstly, there are many types of corruption such as political, bureaucratic, private, collective, redistribution and extractive corruption (Amundsen 1999). Secondly, the different types of corruption sometimes overlap with each other such as political and bureaucratic corruption. Thirdly, the conception of corruption differs between socio-cultural contexts. In this essay, I shall focus solely on “political corruption” by examining three different theoretical frameworks that scholars often use to study corruption: 1) The institutionalisation of corruption, 2) the economics of political corruption and 3) the socialization of political …show more content…

A dominant discourse has been the relationship between democratization and corruption. Pro-democratic scholars view corruption as a “deviation from the Weberian legal-rational model of democratic and bureaucratic rule” (Andvig & Fjeldstad 2001, 37) and posit that corruption occurs in the absence of a democratic system. They argue that corruption can easily fester without adequate legislative checks to hold the executive power accountable and an independent judiciary to provide a “predictable legal framework” (Hope Sr 2001, 123). Statistical work on the relationship between democracy and corruption also report a negative correlation between the two variables. Siegle et al. (2004) note how the level of corruption in democracies is typically 15%-25% lower than autocracies. Treisman’s (2000) cross national study of 64 states showed that established liberal democracies with prolonged exposure to democratic norms such as civil liberty rights are associated with lower corruption levels (399). This is similarly supported by Montinola & Jackman (2002) who report the inhibiting effect of democratic practices on corruption (148). In contrast, countries with less civil rights, such as the restriction of the freedom of press, are more likely to be corrupt due to the ability of the state to avoid being transparent with the public (Brunetti & Weder 2003,

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