All forms of
government are susceptible to political corruption. Forms of corruption vary,
but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and
embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug
trafficking, money laundering, and trafficking, it is not restricted to these
organized crime activities. In some nations corruption is so common that it is
expected when ordinary businesses or citizens interact with government
officials. The end-point of political corruption is a kleptocracy, literally "rule by
thieves".
In the political
realm, it undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in legislative bodies
reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking; corruption
in the judiciary compromises the rule of law; and corruption in public
administration results in the unfair provision of services. More generally,
corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government as procedures are
disregarded, resources are siphoned off, and public offices are bought and
sold.
In the private
sector, corruption increases the cost of business through the price of illicit
payments themselves, the management cost of negotiating with officials, and the
risk of breached agreements or detection. Although some claim corruption
reduces costs by cutting red tape, the availability of bribes can also induce
officials to contrive new rules and delays
Economists argue
that one of the factors behind the differing economic development in Africa and
Asia is that in the former, corruption has primarily taken the form of rent
extraction with the resulting financial capital moved overseas rather invested
at home. University of Massachusetts researchers estimated that from 1970 to
1996, capital flight from 30 sub Saharan countries totaled $187bn, exceeding
those nations' external debts.
Favoring relatives
(nepotism) or personal friends (cronyism). This may be combined with bribery,
for example demanding that a business should employ a relative of an official
controlling regulations affecting the business. The most extreme example is when
the entire state is inherited, as in North Korea or Syria.
Conditions
favorable for corruption
1) Information
deficits:
Ø Lack of government
transparency.
Ø Lacking freedom of
information legislation. The Indian Right to Information Act 2005 has
"already engendered mass movements in the country that is bringing the
lethargic, often corrupt bureaucracy to its knees and changing power equations
completely."
Ø Contempt for or
negligence of exercising freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Ø Weak accounting
practices, including lack of timely financial management.
2) Lacking control
over and accountability of the government.
Ø Democracy absent
or dysfunctional.
Ø Lacking civic
society and non-governmental organizations which monitor the government.
Ø An individual
voter may have a rational ignorance regarding politics, especially in
nationwide elections, since each vote has little weight.
Ø Weak rule of law,
Weak legal profession, Weak judicial independence.
Ø Lack of
benchmarking. The Peruvian organization Ciudadanos al Dia has started to measure and compare transparency, costs, and efficiency
in different government departments in Peru. It annually awards the best
practices which has received widespread media attention. This has created
competition among government agencies in order to improve.
3) Opportunities and
incentives:
Ø A large public
sector and many regulations increase the opportunities for corruption. That is
one argument for privatization and deregulation.
Ø Poorly-paid
government officials.
Ø Long-time work in
the same position may create relationships inside and outside the government
which encourage and help conceal corruption and favoritism. Rotating government
officials to different positions and geographic areas may help prevent this.
Ø Costly political
campaigns, with expenses exceeding normal sources of political funding.
Ø Less interaction
with officials reduces the opportunities for corruption. For example, using the
Internet for sending in required information, like applications and tax forms,
and then processing this with automated computer systems. This may also speed up
the processing and reduce unintentional human errors.
4) Social conditions:
Ø Self-interested
closed cliques and "old boy networks".
Ø In societies where
personal integrity is rated as less important than other characteristics (by
contrast, in societies such as 18th and 19th Century England, 20th Century
Japan and post-war western Germany, where society showed almost obsessive
regard for "honor" and personal integrity, corruption was less
frequently seen).
Ø Lacking literacy
and education among the population
Politicians are
placed in apparently compromising positions because of their need to solicit financial contributions for their campaign finance. If they then appear to be
acting in the interests of those parties that funded them, this gives rise to
talk of political corruption. Supporters may argue that this is coincidental.
Cynics wonder why these organizations fund politicians at all, if they get
nothing for their money.
Certain countries,
such as France, ban altogether the corporate funding of political parties.
A joint survey by
the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
has also recorded an increase in the number of "unofficial payments"
for licenses and state procurement contracts.
