(Assignment 2) Avienaash

Discretionary power of the public authorities is certainly a necessary condition but there is a much bigger picture than this. In any country, there is always a formal mechanism to check the malfeasance of public authorities. Discretionary power combined with weak legal checks on those with power, due to absence of accountability or dissenting voices is the case.

Further, there is consensus among scholars that corruption is seen in all societies. They explain a large number of economic and non-economic factors as reasons for corrupt practices.

The factors that has gained a lot of attention is decentralization and political participation of citizens.

There is mixed response with regard to decentralization. Many scholars argue that with decentralization corruption decreases. While some argue that the extent of political spoils is same but range of beneficiaries is different.

Political participation is understood to bring down corruption, as it demands transparency.

Case Study – Politics and Corruption in USA

Institutional trust and elections in the context of the United States

Vishali Sairam (HS12H051)

 

The emphasis of this paper is on institutional trust and the social perception of corruption. The most important factor to look at, when studying corruption is social capital, which in Fukuyama’s understanding denotes “characteristics of social life, norms and customs which supports cooperation and solidarity”. Higher social capital is believed to have positive influences on the society in terms of economic development, social stability, public health and happiness. Corruption on the other hand, relates negatively with the notion of social capital in terms of distrust.  More than actual corruption, what matters is the perception of corruption. Different societies perceive political exchanges (bribes and favours) differently depending their cultural understanding of ‘guilt’ and ‘social disapproval’. Decreasing trust results in social environment that is perceived as unpredictable, risky and increased frauds.

Vicious model constructed by Eric M. Uslaner, who calls it as ‘inequality trap’ is useful in understanding the nexus between corruption and (dis)trust. Corrupt Governments have less money for public services, as result of which there is inequality and distrust. This in turn increases corruption.