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This book examines the meaning, structure, practices and symbolism of corruption in relationship to European Union structural funding in Romania. It offers a unique account of the complex transformations faced by post-communist societies. Despite the new legislation that effectively re-branded typical economic practices in Romanian society as 'corruption', entrepreneurs continue to use them in everyday interactions. The entrepreneurial culture described in the chapters is an ordinary trait of the local work routines. Rather than pursuing the singular logic of corruption, the author explores the concept of informality by focusing on the socio-historical context and the meanings embedded in the society that provides solutions to the problems. The book will appeal to students, scholars and practitioners in the areas of corruption, public policy and EU policy and politics.
List of contents
1. Corruption European Union Funding: Transnational Policies Versus Local Praxis.- 2. A Dance of the (Il)legal: Transnational Aid Flows, Entrepreneurship and Corruption.- 3. Transnational Constructions of Development and Control.- 4. Bottom-Up European Integration: EU Ideal Types Versus Romanian Innovations.- 5. "I Make the Papers Look Credible": Consultants' Educational Role in Constructing Eligibility.- 6. Flat-Caps and Shackles: New Hierarchies of Bureaucratic Belonging.- 7. Friday Lunch with EU Funding: Profit-Making Routines.- Conclusion.
About the author
Roxana Bratu is Research Associate in Global and European Anticorruption Policies at University College London, UK. Her current research interests include corruption, informality and European Union funding in Romania, Ukraine and Moldova, comparative research regarding representations of corruption in the media, anti-corruption policies and practices, criminal justice responses to anti-corruption agenda and integrity values, customs and institutions around the globe.
Summary
Fills an important gap in knowledge regarding the impact, efficacy and efficiency of EU funding
Evidences that anti-corruption field is a site for negotiations of political agendas
Provides new insights into the nature and forms of corruption, by analyzing it as a historically contingent process
