Localization,Formalism, and Passivity: Symbols Shaping Bribe Offers in Azerbaijan

The article analyses a neglected side of corruption – citizen-initiated bribe offers in Azerbaijan. The main rationale for taking a citizen focus on corruption is to identify whether citizen choices support state-led anti-corruption initiatives. Drawing on a survey of 1002 respondents, the research shows that ‘tolerance of corruption’ is high among the population in Azerbaijan. Logistic regression results show that bribe offers among citizens are associated with localization and formal value orientations. This means that the respondents pro-actively use bribes and readily bend laws to their own local interests. Thus, bribe offers constitute around half of the entire variation in corruption in Azerbaijan. Therefore, a successful fight against corruption cannot be confined to the eradication of only bureaucratic bribe demand, but needs to take into account corruption choices of the population too.