Saturday 7 May 2016

(ASSIGNMENT 4) REVISITING CORRPTION IN SOUTH KOREA - Jueeli More

In Michael Johnston's 'Syndromes of Corruption', he labelled corruption in South Korea as that of 'Elite Cartels', however if one were to go beyond this label and try to characterise corruption in South Korea it would reveal a more entrenched and pervasive process that the citizens identify, and endorse in. One could say that corruption in South Korea is almost a way of life and therefore combatting corruption in a state such as this is especially difficult as, there exists a history of close interactions between the public and the private sectors and the dominance of the elite classes is clearly identifiable in almost every sphere.

Since Korean culture consists heavily of influences from Confucian philosophy and the state is characterised by authoritarian bureaucracy, there exist very close ties between one's personal life and the public one.
Therefore it becomes very difficult for one to distinguish between the roles that one has to play when in power and work effectively free from any influence arising from personal ties. Another important factor to take into consideration is that pervasive corruption is found at almost all levels of the government. For those at the bottom of the hierarchy,  bribery becomes a lucrative incentive to increase personal gain as their incomes are quite low. The bigger problem still remains at the higher levels of the society and government where those with enough power and wealth extend it to influence the government. Private business enjoy a great amount of leeway as they often engage in malpractices such as collusion to appropriate bigger profits without the fear of being penalised from the authority.

In a state where the incidence of corruption is specially high, it takes a strong political will in order to make any anti-corruption agency function effectively, however this remains a critical problem in South Korea where numerous such attempts have failed simply because those found guilty of corruption are not punished as severely as one would expect them to be – especially because those in the public sector often have something to gain from the outcomes of the corrupt practices. Another problem is the extremely low levels of trust of the citizens in their government and weak protection measures to whistleblowers which makes it difficult for citizens to report incidences of corrupt practices.

Therefore, any measures to combat corruption in South Korea need to begin with solving the problem of social hierarchy in the society. The only way this can be done is to strengthen the institutions and revise the laws which, in themselves are quite lax and can be taken advantage of by those in power. A second measure that needs to be adopted is stronger protection laws for whistleblowers in order to give citizens more power to report incidences of corruption while feeling secured from the those in power. A third measure that could result in an effective mechanism to combat corrupt practices by the larger business firms is to provide financial support to medium and small enterprises in order for them to grow and diversify their business which would result in an equitable distribution of power over between large and small business firms – and eventually decrease the power of the larger business firms in the economic and political sectors.

References:

Quah . T. S Jon, “Combatting corruption in South Asian countries: what have we learnt?” (https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjGn8Tt07vMAhXVA44KHe_QDO8QFggsMAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjournal.hkpaa.org.hk%2Findex.php%2Fpaap-journal%2Fspring-2013%2Fdoc_download%2F50-combating-corruption-in-asian-countries-what-lessons-have-we-learnt&usg=AFQjCNE3-mpX8-uEdwbB5aD6nMzbSyeoZg&sig2=YIYLo0NWUbQl1oYAk1lXkw&bvm=bv.121070826,d.c2E

(Assignment 4) Vishali Sairam

When the subject of analysis is a country like the United States, there is always complexity involved. So is the case with corruption. Not only is there corruption of most conventional types that we find common in all countries like misuse of power and bribery, but also corruption that cannot be differentiated and singled out from the existing institutional, political and legal machinery. One example of this is the case of election campaigns in the United States, where instead of having short, publicly funded campaigns the US has long, political campaigns and the candidates are forced to spend much of their time campaigning and ‘seeking bribes’.  Another is the extent of lobbying resulting in particular parties benefiting from the legislative process or certain industries having reduced regulation, or what is called ‘regulatory capture’.

In case of US, it is important to note that the political and social contexts of corruption are inextricably interlinked and extremely difficult to differentiate. Sometimes corruption is legal and embedded in the political process itself, like in the case of powerful lobbies. This directly leads to a lack of public trust in institutions and becomes a becomes a breeding ground for animosity with certain institutions and groups, much like we see now in US. The fabric of social trust is in danger.

Thus, for me, there are three distinct features of corruption in the United States that pertain to social and political contexts and distinguish it from others.

Economic-Elite Domination in legislation making process
A study Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page provides substantial support for theories of Economic-Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism. This is reflected most in the legislative process.  What they find is deeply unsettling. The opinions of 90% of americans is not reflected in the legislative process at all. They argue that ‘the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy’ . Instead policy making process is dominated by the economically elite, by powerful corporations and multinational companies. [1] [2]

Lack of institutional trust
An important feature of corruption in USA is the lack of institutional trust. A poll by Gallup revealed how only 22% of the total population has confidence in the criminal justice system,33% has confidence in the presidential system and 34% has confidence on the US Supreme Court system. [3]These are abysmally low numbers for one of the richest countries in the world.
Lack of institutional trust feeds into the existing discontent of the public and fuels it into something much more. There is overwhelming support for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump because they are seen as outside ‘Washington’. As more people lose trust in the system, the more chances there are of conflicts, racial hatred, ethnic disputes etc, all of which are extremely harmful to the general ecosystem of the country.



Election Financing
Corruption in USA is characterized most of For both Democrats and Republicans, around 80-85% of the campaign funding comes from Political  Action Committees (PACs) and individual contributors.[4] Corruption becomes intrinsically embedded in election machinery, so much so that we are unable to see it as outside of the system. We lose trust in the system. Institutions regulating power and wealth in electoral politics face serious credibility issues which is essential for its functioning.

The Elected officials spend 30-70% of their time in office fundraising for the next election. When they’re not fundraising, they have no choice but to make sure the laws they pass keep their major donors happy, or they won’t be able to run in the next election.


What can be done?

All the three cases of corruption that we have seen above are sometimes difficult to distinguish from their institutional settings. Therefore, what is needed most importantly is public education and awareness of the type of corruption and an idea about how it manifests in the system. For example, knowing that there is a powerful gun lobby pushing against gun control will make the public understand that this is not just a debate about human security.

Domination in legislation making process can be checked by the presence of an independent anti-corruption organization with sizeable resources (like ICAC) that conducts regular surveys and looks for correlation with public opinions and what is actually passed. This will also create a perception that the government recognises this as a problem and thereby establishing a problem towards solving the problem of institutional trust that is one of the main causes of concern in USA.

Creating certain limits on campaign finance- like compulsorily using public funds and  limiting private funding are some measures to curtail the election campaigning problem. Creating a favourable political scenario is important too- for example the case of Citizens United v, FEC where by allowing unlimited election spending by individuals and corporations, the decision has "re-shaped the political landscape" of the United States. Establishment of audit institutions which oversee  both pre-election audits and post-election audits are also necessary.








[1] Giles M & Page B, Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens; September 2014; Perspectives on Politics, Volume 2, Issue 3,pp 564 - 581
[2] Cassidy.John; Is America an Oligarchy?, The Guardian, April 2014 (http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/is-america-an-oligarchy)
[3] Poll on Confidence in institutions, Gallup (http://www.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx)
[4] Where the money came from’ , Open Secrets, Centre for responsive politics
http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/wherefrom.php?cycle=2010#

(Assignment 4) Official Moghuls of the Termite Kingdom - Tryphena

In the previous assignment, I had claimed that North Korea falls under the category of economic moghuls.  This is mainly because of the centralised system that exists in North Korea, its stunt in terms of economic growth and its high ranking in its Transparency international Corruption Rank.
But when one looks at it carefully we can find that corruption in North Korea is multi- dimensional. Here corruption is not a matter of choice to make their lives easier, it is rather a necessity, be it to participate in the black market to buy food items or to prevent a relative from going to jail or being killed.
For officials on the other hand it is a way to get ahead in life and gain as much wealth and power as possible. For the upper cadre officials, since their position is strong as long as they stay loyal to the Supreme leader and as long as the Supreme leader stays in power, they do everything possible to showcase their loyalty and remain in power. The very shape of the bureaucracy is in such a way that it enables corruption:  centrally-directed economy .
It is ironic that Kim Jong Un held a meeting on strengthening the ruling party where he criticized "the practices of seeking privileges, misuse of authority, abuse of power and bureaucratism," according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency.
 The meeting marked perhaps the first public recognition of systemic abuse of power that is believed to run rampant within the ruling party, Agence France-Presse reported.
The marketization of the North Korean economy has been steadily growing since the famine years of the 1990s. The breakdown of the state-run Public Distribution System that provided most North Koreans with food and basic necessities for free or at highly subsidized prices is believed to have forced many citizens to produce and sell goods on their own to make ends meet.

As such economic activity, often conducted in cash, grew on the fringes and has become more mainstream, it created opportunities for some individuals to amass wealth and has led to what many see as a nascent middle class that is growing in the North and particularly in places like the capital, 
But it is believed to have also opened up more avenues for officials in the party and the powerful military to seek bribes to look the other way or to demand kickbacks.
Kim’s uncle Jang Song Thaek was vilified as being a corrupt womanizer intent on dividing the leadership and was subsequently expelled from the party. He was executed in December 2013.
So is corruption used as an excuse to get rid of politicians that the Supreme Leader considers a threat? Or is Kim Jung Un actually taking measured to bring down corruption? We will never know considering the low levels of transparency in the government and absence of the freedom of press and speech. Like I already mentioned in the 1st assignment, Korea is corrupting the minds of the people. The poor economic development is just a manifest of it.

SOURCES:


(Assignment 4) THE CASE OF NORTH KOREA REVISITED - Sreelakshmi

Corruption, as defined by the article, “When is Corruption Harmful?” by Susan Rose- Ackerman (Heidenheimmer and Johnston) characterises it as illegal payment to a public agent to obtain a benefit that may or may not be deserved in the absence of payoffs. The evaluative standards of corruption are short term efficiency, efficient bureaucratic behaviour, economic growth, equity (surprisingly enough) and political legitimacy. Although corruption can be efficient under some restrictive assumptions, it is inefficient in many contexts and may also be unfair and undermine state legitimacy. Countries that have poorly functioning government institutions tend to be relatively corrupt, and the payoffs are seldom an adequate compensation for other governmental failures.

In this perspective, the case of North Korea as a state that sponsors corruption at the sovereign level can be explained beyond the commonsensical conception of clientalism or elite cartels as reasons for corruption. This understanding calls into examination important social and political contexts that prevail in North Korea—usual definitions of corruption apply to democracies, characterising the presence of corruption in such societies as a violation of democracy itself. The case of an absolute authoritative regime ruled by dynastic succession, presents a curious case of corruption as the order of the state. However, despite having control over the entire economic and political apparatus of the country, the regime has been unable to alleviate poverty, achieve economic growth or any indicators in its human development index. This has happened due to channelizing of the funds obtained through clandestine methods by the state, to projects like nuclear tests and missile launches.

A critical mass of (comparitive) literature on corruption in North Korea comes from Seoul, which significantly impacts objectivity of the study. While both the countries gained independence around the same time, South Korea has focussed on developmentalism as promoted by the state, in a totalitarian manner post the Korean War. The democratic republic in the South has managed to achieve magnificent levels of sustained growth, earning it a spot in the list of “Asian Tigers”. The North remains underdeveloped and mired in poverty, disease and human suffering owing to the regime’s corruption, nepotism and mismanagement of the Public Distribution System in the country. The situation is such that the citizens obtain their necessities at the black market while the government invests in drug manufacturing and smuggling and printing counterfeit dollar notes to apparently “ruin” the US economy.


The restriction of the black market and the revival of the economy based on a sound PDS needs to be the primary priority for North Korea at this point. While it is difficult to argue out this point without falling into the trap of the White Saviour Complex, it is essential to focus the economy’s meagre resources into improving public life than to show military or aggressive strength to the world. Secondly, the local governance structures and democratic revival of political activity needs to take place, but it is a longer conversation for another day. Finally, the lack of awareness/ acknowledgement regarding corruption in the country among the general public, also contributes towards the government unaccountability, only compounded by the lack of a democratic political framework. This also makes it difficult to arrive at potential strategies to mitigate corruption, when it is so deeply entrenched in the state apparatus.