A Culture of Corruption?
Coping with Government in Post-communist Europe
Edited by William L. Miller, Åse B. Grødeland
and Tatyana Y. Koshechkina, University of Glasgow
"This excellent and thorough study, consisting of nine
chapters, undertakes the ambitious task of getting emprirical
data on what the authors call 'bureaucratic encounters'
between citizens and state officers in the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Bulgaria and Ukraine... This long-awaited
study is an outstanding contribution to political science
...certainly comparable to the classic 'Civic Culture'
by Almond and Verba, and an indispensible source of
research and inspiration in any political science library"
- Political Studies
"...a valuable addition to the literature on corruption
in general and on corruption in transitional eastern
Europe, in particular ... an excellent survey of how
civil society in eastern Europe copes with an endemic
social and political condtion, corruption (in its conventional
defintion of official self-dealing). Anyone interested
in the eventual shape of east European society would
do well to consider this volume." - Slavic Review
"Any casual visitor to Central Europe knows how
pervasive the perception (and probably the reality)
of corruption is. This is, then, a very welcome addition
to the literature. Its strength is the focus on ordinary
citizens and how they cope with bureaucracy at their
level - and on the larger issue of consolidating democracy.
This is no expose of elite scandal but a close study
of citizen encounters in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Ukraine,
and the Czech Republic. An important chapter on ethnic
minorities and officials is welcome. ... This volume
will be most accessible to advanced social scientists.
... will benefit many as it shows variation between
countries."
- Choice
"Die meisten Studien zur Demokratisierung im postkommunistischen
Europa konzentrieren sich auf Entwicklungen auf der
nationalen politischen Ebene. Eine bedeutende Ausnahme
ist A Culture of Corruption." - Osteuropa
There is wide agreement that democracy should provide
citizens with more than a small share of influence over
central government. A democratic system should ensure
that citizens are treated with fairness and respect
by government officials. Based upon a plethora of surveys
and in-depth interviews with government officials and
citizens, this book focuses on issues such as bribery,
corruption, inefficiency and freedom of information,
in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
A major strength of A Culture of Corruption
is that the authors go beyond analysing public perceptions
and behavior and look at public attitudes towards proposals
for reform. The authors reveal how the problem of citizens'
interactions with officials varies in kind as well as
in degree across the countries of Central and Eastern
Europe.
A Culture of Corruption provides the most up-to-date
and comprehensive account of how citizens cope with
state officials in post-communist Europe, how they feel
about their dealings with these officials and what support
they give to proposals for reform.
Contents
Preface. Chapter 1: Unfinished business
Chapter 2: Public perspectives on officials Chapter
3: Strategies for dealing with officials Chapter
4: Victims or accomplices - why citizens give presents
and bribes Chapter 5: The ethnic dimension Chapter
6: Between state and citizen - officials' perspectives
on clients Chapter 7: Confessions and justifications
- why officials accept presents and bribes Chapter
8: Proposals for reform
2000
320 pages
ISBN 978-963-9116-98-6 cloth $49.95 / €42.95 / £33.00
ISBN 978-963-9116-99-3 paperback $24.95 / €19.95 /
£16.99
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