How Can High Levels of Corruption in Central and Eastern Europe Be Explained? What Impact Does It Have on Societies at Large?
How can high levels of corruption in Central and Eastern Europe be explained? What impact does it have on societies at large?
Corruption constitutes a significant part of politics in Eastern Europe to the extent that “talking about corruption is the way post- communist public talks about politics, economy about past and future” (Krastov, p 43). Transparency International defines corruption as “a misuse of public power for the private gain at the expense of the public good”. There are different types of corruption: bureaucratic, political –administrative, political legislative and judicial corruption. (Ott, p 72). Scholars introduced many potential explanations behind the astronomical levels of corruption in Central and Eastern Europe. In this essay I will examine the communist legacies as well as pre-socialist historical and political background as some of the factors that result in modern day corruption. I will additionally assess the impact of the transitional period on the corruption level. Furthermore it I will examine corruption’s negative costs, such as economic inefficiency and distortion of civil society, decline of the rule of law and, the rise in organised crime along with arguably positive consequences such as resolving bureaucracy and increase in productivity among the officials.
Corrupt legal and political systems that were indicative of communist states have greatly influenced the region today. This is due to the connection between economics and politics in the socialist system, which is even closer than it is in liberal democracies (Krastev, p 180). People were forced by the system itself to cheat in order to achieve improv their lives. In western democracies, citizens were able to move around freely and had alternative employers, whereas “in socialist society with technically one employer it was hard to achieve wanted promotion”(Karklins, 80). Frustration at the system endorsed corruption as means of taking revenge at the system (Karklins).
Corruption constitutes a significant part of politics in Eastern Europe to the extent that “talking about corruption is the way post- communist public talks about politics, economy about past and future” (Krastov, p 43). Transparency International defines corruption as “a misuse of public power for the private gain at the expense of the public good”. There are different types of corruption: bureaucratic, political –administrative, political legislative and judicial corruption. (Ott, p 72). Scholars introduced many potential explanations behind the astronomical levels of corruption in Central and Eastern Europe. In this essay I will examine the communist legacies as well as pre-socialist historical and political background as some of the factors that result in modern day corruption. I will additionally assess the impact of the transitional period on the corruption level. Furthermore it I will examine corruption’s negative costs, such as economic inefficiency and distortion of civil society, decline of the rule of law and, the rise in organised crime along with arguably positive consequences such as resolving bureaucracy and increase in productivity among the officials.
Corrupt legal and political systems that were indicative of communist states have greatly influenced the region today. This is due to the connection between economics and politics in the socialist system, which is even closer than it is in liberal democracies (Krastev, p 180). People were forced by the system itself to cheat in order to achieve improv their lives. In western democracies, citizens were able to move around freely and had alternative employers, whereas “in socialist society with technically one employer it was hard to achieve wanted promotion”(Karklins, 80). Frustration at the system endorsed corruption as means of taking revenge at the system (Karklins).