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This book deals with large-scale, systemic corruption, a phenomenon that it identifies as part of the political landscape in most, if not all, societies of the contemporary world. While the analysis is grounded in the political thought of earlier thinkers, especially Edmund Burke, and integrates the insights of several modern analysts of corruption, the volume offers a new, updated theoretical perspective on the topic. This perspective reflects deep concerns with corruption in a world facing accelerated social transition, increased economic polarization, and growing distrust toward political elites in many countries.
This book approaches corrupt practices both theoretically and empirically, offering the perspectives of scholars who come to the topic from different traditions and cultures. It contains the collective efforts of members of the Research Committee on Political Finance and Public Corruption of the International Political Science Association. In formulating a comprehensive approach on corruption, the volume offers insights in regard to new developments in the United States, in Middle Eastern countries (especially in the wake of the Arab Spring), in several European counties (Austria, Italy, Spain), as well as in the People's Republic of China. The analysis goes beyond the traditional legal definitions of corruption or purely economic views of it and focuses more broadly on institutional, cultural, and normative dimensions of this globally important phenomenon.
List of contents
Chapter 1: Introduction: Edmund's Burke's Concept of Corruption and Beyond
Jonathan Mendilow and Ilan Peleg
Chapter 2: The Meaning of Corruption in World Opinion
Frank Louis Rusciano
Chapter 3: The Shifting Landscape of Corruption in America: Legal Corruption, Systemic Corruption or a New Form
Barry Seldes
Chapter 4: Can Public Funding and Citizen United Coexist?
Robert G. Boatright
Chapter 5: Corruption and the Arab Spring: Comparing the Pre- and Post-Spring Situation
Ilan Peleg and Jonathan Mendilow
Chapter 6:Ancient Democracy and the Modern Era: Why is Corruption so Common These Days?
Rebecca R. Fiske
Chapter 7: The Austrian Way: Neo-Corporatism and Neoliberal Corruption
Barbara Franz and Jürgen Pfeffer
Chapter 8: Corruptible Competition: Power Nodes, Corruption, and Sleaze
Michael J. Brogan
Chapter 9: Tackling Corruption, finally? How Domestic and Supranational Factors have Led to Incremental Policy Change in Italy
Daniela R. Piccio, Fabrizio Di Mascio, and Alessandro Natalini
Chapter 10: Corruption Perception and Collective Action: The Case of Spain
Manuel Villoria, Fernando Jiménez-Sánchez and Ana Revuelta
Chapter 11: State Capitalism and Corruption: The Case of China
Jacob Sprague White
Chapter 12: Anthropological Approaches to Corruption: Globalizing Processes & Case Studies
Roberta Fiske-Rusciano
About the author
Jonathan Mendilow chairs the Research Committee on Political Finance & Political Corruption of the International Political Science Association and the Department of Political Science at Rider University.
Ilan Peleg is Charles A. Dana Professor of Government and Law at Lafayette College and adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC.
Summary
This book presents a variety of perspectives on the phenomenon of political and economic corruption—and the link between them—through focused and theoretical analysis. While grounded in the intellectual tradition of classical writers such as Edmund Burke, the volume presents an updated profile of corrupted practices in the contemporary world.
