Political Corruption and Governance

Political Corruption and Governance Series Editors Dan Hough University of Sussex Brighton, UK Paul M. Heywood University of Nottingham Nottingham, UK This series aims to analyse the nature and scope of, as well as possible remedies for, political corruption. The rise to prominence over the last 20 years of corruption-related problems and of the ‘good governance’ agenda as the principal means to tackle them has led to the development of a plethora of (national and international) policy proposals, international agreements and anti-corruption programmes and initiatives. National governments, international organisations and NGOs all now claim to take very seriously the need to tackle issues of corruption. It is thus unsurprising that over couple of decades, a signifcant body of work with a wide and varied focus has been published in academic journals and in international discussion papers. This series seeks to provide a forum through which to address this growing body of literature. It invites not just in-depth single country analyses of corruption and attempts to com- bat it, but also comparative studies that explore the experiences of different states (or regions) in dealing with different types of corruption. We also invite monographs that take an overtly thematic focus, analysing trends and developments in one type of corruption across either time or space, as well as theoretically informed analysis of discrete events. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14545 Richard Rose · Caryn Peiffer Bad Governance and Corruption Richard Rose Caryn Peiffer Centre for the Study of Public Policy School for Policy Studies University of Strathclyde University of Bristol Glasgow, UK Bristol, UK Political Corruption and Governance ISBN 978-3-319-92845-6 ISBN 978-3-319-92846-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92846-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943674 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover image: © MartinPrague/iStock/Getty Images Plus Cover design by Akihiro Nakayama Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland PREFACE: WHY THIS BOOK IS IMPORTANT Governance is a recurring word in the discussion of public policy because it describes the relationship between governors and governed, an inevi- table feature of every political system. The quality of governance varies greatly between political systems, but the attention given to good and bad governance is unbalanced. A Google search fnds 47 million refer- ences to good governance and fewer than 7 million to bad governance. However, more societies are subject to bad governance than to good governance, and corruption is a major cause. The introduction of elections in formerly undemocratic regimes has not guaranteed that a country enjoys good governance, and bad governance can be found not only in developing countries but also in parts of Europe and Northern America too. Corruption takes many forms. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption casts a wide net in describing ‘the scourge of corruption’. It includes not only the payment of bribes, the most common form of corruption, but also the tolerance of organized crime, dealing in drugs, money laundering, and handling stolen assets. Since the Convention was published in 2005, a total of 175 member states have signed it, including many where corruption is a signifcant feature of governance. They could do so without censure for their national prac- tices because the Convention lacks the means of effective enforcement. Consistent with the UN’s respect for national sovereignty, member states are asked to consider adopting good governance laws insofar as they are v vi PREFACE: WHY THIS BOOK IS Important in keeping with their national constitutions. Even if a constitution rhe- torically endorses normative standards of good governance, the practice can still be corrupt. This book is about the experience of ordinary people with governance when they come into contact with offcials delivering public policies at the grass roots of their society. The services delivered include both the ‘good’ goods of public policy such as education and health care, and the necessary but not always welcome services of the police and offcials issu- ing documents such as identity cards and driving licences. The view of government at the grass roots is very different from that at the top of government. In the words of a Chinese proverb: The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Our approach is unique because we analyze empirical evidence from sample surveys asking more than 175,000 people about their experience of governance. The surveys are not confned to countries with good governance nor do they concentrate exclusively on badly governed countries. They cover a cross-section of the world’s population in 125 countries of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North and South America. For billions of people, corruption is not just a subject for academic scrutiny but a familiar experience of what happens when they meet public offcials face to face. Globally, an estimated 1.8 billion people annually pay a bribe to get a public service that they are entitled to receive, such as health care, or to avoid onerous regulations requiring such things as a permit to make a living as a street trader. The number of people experi- encing bribery each year is so large because many of the countries viewed as practising good governance, such as the Scandinavian states, have only a few percent of the world’s population. Conversely, corruption is high in the world’s most populous countries. In India, an estimated 807 million people are caught up in bribery each year, and in the People’s Republic of China, 290 million. The 10 countries contributing the larg- est number of bribe payers to the global total include undemocratic countries such as Russia, as well as countries that hold free or partly free elections such as Mexico and India. The impact of corruption on societies is bad because a signifcant amount of money that should be spent on national development is diverted into the pockets of politicians and public employees delivering services. In the words of UN Secretary-General Kof Annan when endorsing the UN’s 2005 Convention Against Corruption: PREFACE: WHY THIS BOOK IS Important vii This evil phenomenon is found in all countries but it is in the developing world that its effects are most destructive. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, under- mining a government’s ability to provide basic services, feeding inequality and injustice and discouraging foreign aid and investment. Because corruption is good for public offcials who pocket bribes, bad governance can be maintained indefnitely when the people who beneft most also have the most political power. The impact of corruption on governance depends on the behaviour of politicians and public offcials. The frst chapter distinguishes between the narrow formal defnition of corruption and the much broader informal defnition. Formal standards are set out in laws that specify the bureaucratic procedures that public offcials ought to follow, such as treating all citizens impartially. Bad governance is the consequence of public offcials breaking laws by such actions as demanding a bribe to deliver a service that a person is entitled to receive free. Informal standards of how politicians ought to behave are held in the minds of voters, for example that politicians should not use their public offce to accu- mulate private wealth or make misleading promises in pursuit of win- ning elections. Whereas formal standards are enforced in courts of law, informal standards are enforced in the court of public opinion. When the behaviour of offceholders meets both standards, good governance is the result. When one standard is violated and the other is not, the quality of governance is in dispute. When both standards are violated, governance is doubly corrupt. Many people are more concerned with getting what they want from governance than with whether public offcials adhere to formal standards. This is particularly the case for people who depend on public services because they lack the money to buy private health care or education. Chapter 2 shows how people satisfce, that is, getting what they want by the book, by hook or by crook. In the frst instance, offcials satisfy claimants by following standards of impartiality set out in bureaucratic rules.

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