POLn4053 Political Corruption, Clientelism and Nepotism

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024

The course is not taught in Autumn 2024

Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Aneta Pinková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Aneta Pinková, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Supplier department: Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! NOWANY ( BSS465 Politická korupce , BSSn4465 Politická korupce ) && ! BSS465 Politická korupce && ! NOW ( POL618 Political Corruption ) && ! POL618 Political Corruption && ! BSSn4465 Politická korupce
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course offers the possibility of a deeper understanding of political corruption, its causes and consequences. It will deal both with theoretical and methodological issues related to the study of corruption (such as definition, operationalization, measurement etc.) and practical/empirical problems such as anti-corruption policies, political party finance and transparency of public contracts and related security issues.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
– explain advantages and weaknesses of various definitions of corruption;
– describe and compare different forms of clientelism;
– describe and assess various anti-corruption strategies;
– describe possible impacts of corruption on the quality of democracy and the political system;
- evaluate security risks related to corruption in different regions.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introductory lesson.
  • 2. What is (and is not) corruption?
  • 3. How to measure and research corruption? Example of the Czech Republic.
  • 4. Clientelism and nepotism.
  • 5. Cultural context and social organization of corruption.
  • 6. Corruption and institutions, the concept of state capture, the relationship between corruption and democracy.
  • 7. The fight against corruption.
  • 8. Corruption and elections, corruption and political parties.
  • 9. Corruption and the legislative process, corruption in public procurement.
  • 10. Corruption in the armed forces and security forces.
  • 11. Security implications of corruption.
Literature
    required literature
  • • Mungiu-Pippidi, Alina. 2013. Controlling Corruption Through Collective Action. Journal of Democracy, 24(1), pp. 86–99.
  • • Magrath, William B. 2011. Corruption and crime in forestry. IN: Graycar. A. and Smith, R. G. (eds.) Handbook of Global Research and Practice in Corruption. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, pp. 170-179.
  • • Gardiner, John A. 2001. Defining Corruption, in: Heidenheimer, Arnold J. – Johnston, M. (eds.): Political Corruption, Concepts & Contexts. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, pp. 25-40.
  • • Rose-Ackerman, Susan. 1999. Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 113-126.
  • • United Nations. 2005. Draft: United Nations Handbook on Practical Anti-Corruption Measures for Prosecutors and Investigators (https://www.unodc.org/pdf/corruption/publications_handbook_prosecutors.pdf), pp. 49-50 + 67-68 (excluding section B) + 73-74 (
  • • Muno, Wolfgang. 2013. Clientelist corruption networks: conceptual and empirical approaches, in: Debiel, T. – Gawrich, A. (eds.): (Dys-)Functionalities of Corruption: Comparative Perspectives and Methodological Pluralism. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 33-
  • • Philp, M. 2018. The Definition of Political Corruption. IN P. M. Heywood (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Political Corruption. Abingdon, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 17-29.
  • • Otaluka, Wisdom Okwuoma. 2017. The Cultural Roots of Corruption: An Ethical Investigation with Particular Reference to Nepotism. Thesis. University of Kwazulu-Natal, pp. 74-76 (chapter 3.1.3) + 89-115. (https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/bitstream/handle
  • • Kobis, Nils, C. – Iragorri-Carter, Daniel – Starke, Christopher. A Social Psychological View on the Social Norms of Corruption. In. Kubbe, Ina and Engelbert Annika (eds.) Corruption and Norms: Why Informal Rules Matter. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 31
  • • Kurer, Oskar. 2001. Why do Voters Support Corrupt Politicians? In Arvind K. Jain (ed). The Political Economy of Corruption. London: Routledge. pp. 63-86. (http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_1/CORRUPTION%20The%20political%20economy%20
  • • Miller, Nicholas R. 1999. Logrolling. An entry in The Encyclopedia of Democratic Thought (Routledge) edited by Paul Barry Clarke and Joe Foweraker. (https://userpages.umbc.edu/~nmiller/RESEARCH/LOGROLLING.pdf)
  • • Hilgers, Tina (ed). 2012. Clientelism In Everyday Latin American Politics, pp. 4-22.
  • • Heywood P. M . and Rose J. (2014). “Close but no Cigar”: the measurement of corruption. Journal of Public Policy, 34(3), pp. 507-529. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13876988.2013.870115).
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion, reading, presentations
Assessment methods
Oral exam, essay, active participation in the seminars including a presentation.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: in blocks.
Teacher's information
For more detailed instructions please see the Syllabus in the in "Course-Related Instruction" in "Study Materials" in the online Information System.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2024, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2024/POLn4053