Political Corruption

Extracted Attributes

• Core Definition

  The use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain

• Forms of Corruption

  Bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influence peddling, graft, and embezzlement

• Institutional Example

  Mafia state

• Annual Global Bribery Estimate

  Over 1 trillion US dollars

• Term for Unrestrained Corruption

  Kleptocracy

Timeline

• Inge Amundsen publishes 'Political corruption: An introduction to the issues' through the Chr. Michelsen Institute. (Source: CMI Working Paper)

  1999-01-01

• An updated version of Amundsen's work is published as 'Extractive and power-preserving political corruption' in the book Political Corruption in Africa. (Source: Edward Elgar Ltd)

  2019-01-01

• Investigative journalist Nick Shirley reports on massive daycare fraud and alleged systemic political corruption in Minnesota's CCAP program. (Source: All-In Podcast)

  2024-01-01

Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influence peddling, graft, and embezzlement. Corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, although it is not restricted to these activities. Over time, corruption has been defined differently. For example, while performing work for a government or as a representative, it is unethical to accept a gift. Any free gift could be construed as a scheme to lure the recipient towards some biases. In most cases, the gift is seen as an intention to seek certain favors, such as work promotion, tipping in order to win a contract, job, or exemption from certain tasks in the case of junior worker handing in the gift to a senior employee who can be key in winning the favor. Some forms of corruption, now called "institutional corruption", are distinguished from bribery and other kinds of obvious personal gain. For example, certain state institutions may consistently act against the interests of the public, such as by misusing public funds for their own interest, or by engaging in illegal or immoral behavior with impunity. Bribery and overt criminal acts by individuals may not necessarily be evident but the institution nonetheless acts immorally as a whole. The mafia state phenomenon is an example of institutional corruption. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence. The activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. For instance, some political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some cases, government officials have broad or ill-defined powers, which make it difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone is estimated to involve over 1 trillion US dollars annually. A state of unrestrained political corruption is known as a kleptocracy, literally meaning "rule by thieves".

Web Search Results

• Political corruption - Wikipedia

  Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influence peddling, graft "Graft (politics)"), and embezzlement. Corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise, such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking, although it is not restricted to these activities. [...] Political corruption undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in the legislature reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking; corruption in the judiciary compromises the rule of law; and corruption in public administration results in the inefficient provision of services. For republics, it violates a basic principle of republicanism regarding the centrality of civic virtue. More generally, [...] An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence. The activities that constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. For instance, some political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some cases, government officials have broad or ill-defined powers, which make it difficult to distinguish

• Topic Guide: Political Corruption

  Political corruption involves a wide range of crimes and illicit acts committed by decision-makers before, during and after leaving office(#1). It can thus be manifested in a wide-range of ways including: illegal political finance, undue influence on policy-making, state capture, election fraud, vote buying, abuse of state resources during elections, abuse of immunities and other prerogatives related to their position, as well as favouritism in appointments and decisions, among others. [...] The existence, extent and pervasiveness of these different forms of political corruption vary according to the specific social, economic and cultural contexts in which they are found. As such, the prevalence of a certain type of political corruption depends to a great extent on a country’s legal and institutional and overall integrity system. While corruption related to political finance seems to be an issue affecting both developed and developing countries, vote-buying and election fraud seem [...] Against this backdrop, measures to prevent and curb political corruption often include initiatives in the following areas: ### Political finance It is fundamental to have clear rules regarding the funding of political parties and candidates as well as a strong oversight body that fully investigates potential corruption and abuses. Transparency is also instrumental to allow civil society, media and voters to monitor the process. ### Election corruption

• Political corruption: An introduction to the issues

  Corruption is generally defined as the misuse of public authority, and political corruption is here defined as corruption in which the political decision-makers are involved. In addition to a review of the various definitions of corruption a classification of the various forms of corruption (bribery, embezzlement, fraud and extortion), this paper presents two alternative theories on corruption ("extractive" and "redistributive") in order to illustrate the effects of corruption in various regime [...] Please note: This working paper is more than 20 years old. An updated, extended and corrected version is published as the first chapter 'Extractive and power-preserving political corruption' of the bookInge Amundsen (ed.): Political Corruption in Africa. Extraction and Power Preservation. Cheltenham/UK and Northampton/MA/US, 2019, Edward Elgar Ltd. The first chapter is available here. Please use and refer to this instead. ### Inge Amundsen Emeritus [...] Open menu Home Publications CMI Working Paper | 1999 # Political corruption: An introduction to the issues Inge Amundsen (1999) Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Working Paper WP 1999:7) 32 p. Pdf Author Cite Share Download this publication How to cite this publication: Inge Amundsen (1999). Political corruption: An introduction to the issues. Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Working Paper WP 1999:7)

• What Is Political Corruption and What Can We Do About It?

  Despite its frequent and varied use, the term “political corruption” has a widely accepted definition: the abuse of public office for private gain. Importantly, while “private gain” includes not just economic benefits like money and material goods but also other unfair advantages, this analysis focuses primarily on examples of financial self-enrichment. ## Political Corruption Harms Ordinary People [...] Preface Rising political corruption highlights the need for structural reforms to strengthen federal institutions and rein in conduct that harms American citizens. Harmful Supreme Court decisions, erosion of norms, and public officials’ increasing brazenness have created this moment. But the public and Congress can take immediate steps to curtail political corruption and, in the longer term, push for more fundamental reforms to return democratic power to the American people. [...] The word “corruption” is regularly used to describe politicians’ conduct but seldom defined. In political discourse, the word is sometimes used broadly to refer to anything that seems dysfunctional or otherwise harmful to the public interest. At the same time, the Supreme Court has significantly narrowed the legal definition of corruption, curbing the reach of criminal anticorruption laws and limiting policymakers’ ability to regulate the role of money in politics.

• What is corruption?

  Corruption can involve anyone: politicians, government officials, public servants, business people or members of the public. Corruption happens in the shadows, often with the help of professional enablers such as bankers, lawyers, accountants and real estate agents, opaque financial systems and anonymous shell companies that allow corruption schemes to flourish and the corrupt to launder and hide their illicit wealth. [...] public servants demanding or taking money or favours in exchange for services, politicians misusing public money or granting public jobs or contracts to their sponsors, friends and families, corporations bribing officials to get lucrative deals Corruption can happen anywhere: in business, government, the courts, the media, and in civil society, as well as across all sectors from health and education to infrastructure and sports.