From corruption to extortion: Conceptualization of post-communist corruption

Moral outrage and lack of comparison distorts the understanding of the natureand politically determined functions of governmental corruption in post-communist transition. As post-communist societies move towards open market systems and corruption is no longer limited to the public sector, politics is transformed into a potent tool for illegal transactions. The political structureitself creates corrupt practices that become a structural feature of transition societies. This article offers first a critical discussion of both moral theories of corruption and the thesis that posits a link between corruption and democracy deficit in post-communist countries. Subsequently, it sketches a neo-functionalist approach that puts corruption in a specific social context.With respect to East/Central Europe, corruption is presented as a betrayal ofpublic trust that serves specific requirements of an emerging ``extortioniststate.' These requirements relate to the expansion of extortion opportunitiesand their institutionalization into a semblance of a Tule of law system.     

Democratic transitions and forms of corruption

Any transition to democracy has implications for corruption. This papertakes a contextual and procesual approach to the analysis ofdemocratisation and corruption. It disaggregates some variables wherebydemocratisation can provide the context for the development of corruptionand crime. This paper does not argue democratisation causescorruption and crime. Nor does it argue democratisation does not providethe social space for the reduction of corruption and crime. This paperconcentrates on the areas in which democratisation provides an oftencomplex environment for the development of corruption and crime.     

Privatisation and corruption in Romania

Editor's note. The regime change in East and Central Europe and the reslting shift toward market economies and new political institutions have raised complex questions regarding the relationships between the public and private sectors of the economy and society. Romania's transition has been particularly difficult in both political and economic terms. That nation confronts the challenge of creating new conceptions of ownership and citizenship, and new standards of conduct, in a setting in which the government charged with these tasks has legitimacy problems of its own. In this Research Note drawing upon Romanian press accounts, Liliana Popescu-Birlan reviews the early stages of this process. She focuses in particular upon the difficulties involved in privatisation, and upon the implications of the process for problems of corruption.     

Internal strategies against corruption: Guidelines for preventing and combating corruption in police authorities

While corruption is not an entirely new phenomenon in Germany, the number of cases suggests that proactive measures should be taken to strengthen prevention and detection. This article proposes a number of measures which, used separately and in combination, aid prevention and detection. It then proposes a wider management approach to dealing with corruption which ranges from general to specific strategies and actions that are intended to prevent corruption, to design out the circumstances in which it may occur and to provide means of detecting areas of risk and vulnerability. The article particularly focuses on police organisations but has applied relevance to all public sector organisations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Organized crime, corruption and power

The perception of organised crime as an external threat to political stability and integrity, as well as to orthodox commercial activity, is based on an assumption about the motives and intentions of organised criminals. It invariably results in a call for a war against crime. The reality and the possible solutions are less dramatic but also more complex. Organised criminals are concerned with both legal and illegal businesses where bribery of public officials and involvement with orthodox commercial activity are part of that business. While organised criminals may want to enjoy the profits of their business rather than subvert societies what they do and how they do it can have adverse consequences for societies and should be addressed. In seeking to do this, however, it is necessary not only to analyse threats to target resources more effectively but also discourage those public figures and orthodox businesses whose enthusiasm for short-term benefit overrides their moral judgement and thus allows organised crime to be tolerated within the societies to which they are supposed to be an external threat.     

Political corruption in Brazil

This paper analyzes instances of political corruption in Brazil since the 1985 return to civilian rule, and concentrates on the impeachment of Pres. Fernando Collor in 1992, and the so-called Budgetgate episode in 1993/94. Linkages between political corruption and campaign financing are described, as well as recent legislation to inhibit same.Revised version of a paper presented to the Research Committee on Political Corruption and Campaign Finance, XVI Congress of the International Political Science Association, Berlin, Germany, August, 1994.     

A principal-agent model of corruption

One of the new avenues in the study of political corruption is that of neo-institutional economics, of which the principal-agent theory is a part. In this article a principal-agent model of corruption is presented, in which there are two principals (one of which is corrupting), and one agent (who is corrupted). The behaviour of these principals and agent is analysed in terms of the costs and benefits associated with different actions. The model is applied to political corruption in representative democracies, showing that, contrary to common belief, the use of principal-agent models is not limited to bureaucratic corruption. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

公司法人人格否认制度及其适用

公司法人人格制度在具体运作中,出现了公司股东滥用公司独立人格和股东有限责任的现象,本文针对公司人格被滥用的现状,对公司人格否认制度确立的必要性、公司法人人格否认法理及其适用作了初步分析,以平衡公司与股东的权利和股东与债权人的风险,达到健全和完善我国市场经济的立法作用。     

Arms control: Focus on denial and deception

Conclusion Arms control continues to be a key element of U.S. national security policy. Yet, to be a constructive part of our national strategy, stringent arms control verification is required. Of late, the government has moved from agreements incorporating effective monitoring methods to multilateral, feel-good agreements that are very difficult, if not impossible, to monitor. Since the United States is not going to violate agreements, we could be placed at a long-term strategic disadvantage.