Case Study – Politics and Corruption in
USA- Vishali Sairam
A
very relevant case study since it looks into the issue of institutional trust
and elections in the United States which is currently in the middle of election
season. The example of the snuffbox quoted by the author from Teachout’s Corruption in America was very helpful
in understanding the difference in perception of corruption between Europe and
America.
The
issue of Donald Trump and his self financed campaign which has won him quite a
few supporters[1],
has a lot to do with the Citizens United vs FEC ruling which allows
corporations and unions to finance independent campaigns for the candidates.
This solidifies fear that corruption is intrinsically embedded in the system as
very appropriately worded by the author, and in such times a person without any
such influences would seem appealing. However this does ask the question- In a democracy
does a person without any commitments or pressures beget good for the people at
all?
The
electoral condition in America is a good case study to explore Michael Johnston’s
claims that USA is an ‘influence market’ and Ms Sairam with her attempt is able
to strengthen those claims. However, I found her article short of current
examples (barring the Bob McDonnell case), and this could have added more depth
to her article.
Case Study- Corruption in Philippines-
Sreedhar Vinayak
By
aptly choosing Philippines- one of the most corrupt countries in the world, the
author helps us gain good insight on the workings of ‘Oligarchs and Clans’
described by Michael Johnston in his Syndromes
of Corruption. In my opinion, the examples chosen by Mr Vinayak are to the
point, and convey the extent of cronyism and nepotism prevalent in the country.
This can also be seen in the laws of the state itself which renders a lot of
corrupt activities centred on personal gain legitimate, due to lack of
political will to reverse this.
The author however didn’t mention the infamous
padrino system of nepotism- rooted
deeply into the political structures in Philippines explicitly. This is a
glaring miss especially given the author’s attempts to understand the system of
political corruption in Philippines via the lens of ‘Oligarchs and Clans’.
Case Study- Corruption in Venezuela- Jyotika
Minz
Venezuela
had largely been synonymous with Hugo Chavez for the longest time, and as Ms
Minz successfully shows not for the best reasons. The three examples provided
by her explain Venezuela’s abysmal rank on the Transparency International
index, and then some. However, the long tenure held by Chavez in Venezuela was
largely with the support of civil society, and hence one begins to wonder about
the definition of corruption. Corruption clearly cannot be defined on the basis
of ‘social trust’ alone, and is complicated enough to have multiple facets. The
author should have looked a bit more into this curious conundrum in my opinion,
instead of just analysing the economic variables.
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