Corruption and Governmental Legitimacy

A Twenty-First Century Perspective

Edited by Jonathan Mendilow and Ilan Peleg - Contributions by Paulina Alvarado-Goldman; Robert G. Boatright; Lou Brenez; Michael Brogan; Paulo Roberto Neves Costa; Anne-Emmanuelle Deysine; Molly Brigid Flynn; Michal Klima; Ronald Kroeze; Fernando Jimenez; Luc Juillet; Jonathan Mendilow; Ezequiel Martins Paz; Eric Phélippeau; Frank Louis Rusciano; Shunzhu Wang and Manuel Villoria

This volume considers corruption as a multidimensional, complex phenomenon in which various forms of corruption may overlap at any given time. Extending the seemingly paradoxical notion of “legal corruption” to such settings as the USA, Spain, and the Czech Republic, the book seeks to augment our understanding of corruption in democracies by focusing on conduct that is considered by large segments of the population to be corrupt even though they are not explicitly defined as such by the law or the governing elites. Such behaviors are not often captured by corruption perception indexes or identified by scholars who regard corruption as a single category—usually restricted to bribery. However, they are liable to incur a heavy price both in terms of trust in specific governments and of general system support. As illustrated by developments in Spain, the Czech Republic, and the corrosive presidential campaign of 2016 in the USA, these actions are liable to endanger both the quality and actual viability of democratic orders. This volume looks into the possibilities of legal reforms and anticorruption campaigns aiming to correct the consequences of such corruption on government legitimacy. A comparison between the anticorruption campaigns in the competitive authoritarian context of Russia and the fully authoritarian setting of China helps to identify both the difficulties and the possibilities of such efforts in democratic regimes.

Lexington Books

Pages: 324 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-3397-3 • Hardback • November 2016 • $129.00 • (£99.00)

978-1-4985-3398-0 • eBook • November 2016 • $122.50 • (£95.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Corruption & Misconduct, Political Science / General, Political Science / International Relations / General

Corruption and Governmental Legitimacy

A Twenty-First Century Perspective

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This volume considers corruption as a multidimensional, complex phenomenon in which various forms of corruption may overlap at any given time. Extending the seemingly paradoxical notion of “legal corruption” to such settings as the USA, Spain, and the Czech Republic, the book seeks to augment our understanding of corruption in democracies by focusing on conduct that is considered by large segments of the population to be corrupt even though they are not explicitly defined as such by the law or the governing elites. Such behaviors are not often captured by corruption perception indexes or identified by scholars who regard corruption as a single category—usually restricted to bribery. However, they are liable to incur a heavy price both in terms of trust in specific governments and of general system support. As illustrated by developments in Spain, the Czech Republic, and the corrosive presidential campaign of 2016 in the USA, these actions are liable to endanger both the quality and actual viability of democratic orders. This volume looks into the possibilities of legal reforms and anticorruption campaigns aiming to correct the consequences of such corruption on government legitimacy. A comparison between the anticorruption campaigns in the competitive authoritarian context of Russia and the fully authoritarian setting of China helps to identify both the difficulties and the possibilities of such efforts in democratic regimes.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 324 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-3397-3 • Hardback • November 2016 • $129.00 • (£99.00)

978-1-4985-3398-0 • eBook • November 2016 • $122.50 • (£95.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Corruption & Misconduct, Political Science / General, Political Science / International Relations / General

Author

Jonathan Mendilow is professor of political science and global studies at Rider University.

Ilan Peleg is the Dana Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Corruption and Government Legitimacy: A 21^st Century Perspective
2. The Rediscovery of Corruption in Western Democracies
3. Are Democracies Less Corrupt than Other Systems?
4. Perceptions of Corruption and Trust in Government
5. Exploring Citizen’s Perceptions of Political Finance and Political Corruption: Lifting the Lid on Legal corruption in Spain
6. Clientelism, Corruption, and the Concept of Anti–System Parties
7. Perceptions of Corruption in the Nonprofits Gray Zone
8. How Do CEOs and Entrepreneurs Perceive Corruption in Brazil?
9. The US supreme Court and the Fight Against Corruption
10. Sociogenesis and political Uses of Ethics Policies: the Examples of France and Canada
11. Transparency as a political issue in contemporary Russia
12. Anti –Corruption, Power Struggles, and the Rule of Law in China: Xi Jinping’s “Tigger Killing “ Campaign
13. Confusions and Disagreements about the Rotten in Politics.

Reviews

Jonathan Mendilow and Ilan Peleg have brought together a collection of work from scholars around the world that is up to date, varied, informative about the most recent scandals and conceptually rich.
— Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, President, Research Committee on Political Finance and Political Corruption, International Political Science Association

Corruption and Governmental Legitimacy

A Twenty-First Century Perspective

Corruption and Governmental Legitimacy

A Twenty-First Century Perspective

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