Corruption constitutes a fundamental problem for democracy and public administration. It undermines some of the core principles of democracy by posing a challenge to the enforcement of the rule of law and citizens’ trust on public officials to act in the public’s interest (Heywood 2007, 698). Consequently, political corruption can lead to society’s disenchantment with the political leadership (Hopkin 2012, 205; Della Porta 2004). It can also result in a wide-scale disregard for rules and laws on the part of the citizens themselves, often described in the literature as the collective action dilemma (Villoria et al 2013, 88).

 

This special issue seeks to shed light upon the diverse and complex dynamics of informal governance and corruption in the European region. We begin by exploring how patron-client relationships between political parties can help sustain the party in government while hindering the ability to govern in devolved governance. This will be explored through the DUP-Conservative Confidence-and-Supply Agreement. Subsequently, we will explore clientelistic relationships in Spain at the local and regional administrative level following the urban development boom of the 2000s. The project will then proceed to analyse corruption and informality in the Romanian healthcare system, empathising how regular citizens continue to employ informal payments in what they perceive to be a “too corrupt system”. Through the exploration of the Bronze Soldier night and the subsequent cyber attacks in Estonia, we will explore the ambiguous nature of informal practices and the difficulties in attributing accountability. We will then turn to investigate the misuse of state owned firms and the executive positions within them in Poland. In our last piece of the special issue, we will examine the pressing need for a better global governance system. With the emergence of new technology, the lines between state and non-state actors are becoming blurred and our traditional views of accountability and governance may no longer be suitable for the challenges of the 21st century. 

 

We hope that this issue will engage its audience to reflect upon the causes, consequences and scope of corruption in Europe. 

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Sources cited:

Della Porta, D., 2004. Political parties and corruption: Ten hypotheses on five vicious circles. Crime, Law & Social Change, 42, 34-60.

Heywood, P., 2007. Corruption in Contemporary Spain. Political Science & Politics, 40(0), 695-700.

Hopkin, J., 2012. Clientelism, corruption and political cartels: informal governance in Southern Europe. In: Christiansen, T., and Neuhold, C., ed. International Handbook on Informal Governance.  Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar, 198-218.

Villoria, M., Ryzin. G., and Lavena, R., 2013. Social and Political Consequences of Administrative Corruption: A Study of Public Perceptions in Spain. Public Administration Review, 73(1), 85-94.