Corruption: A Danger to Democracy in Europe and Eurasia

Corruption in Europe and Eurasia has not gotten the attention that it deserves. It has been a major factor since the end of the cold war in the former Soviet states. These countries have worked with various degrees of success to privatize their own state-owned industries and build various institutions that allow for democracy and prosperity, but corruption has been a common stumbling block to progress, as it is also in Third World countries, whether it is petty corruption, perhaps by a police officer giving tickets, or of a larger magnitude, where private interests seize control of state assets. Corruption hampers reforms, retards economic growth, and in many cases contributes to the impoverishment of low-income populations through the diversion of resources away from the needy. When government institutions serve private interests, enriching oligarchs and politicians instead of addressing the needs of its people, that undermines faith in government, the rule of law, and the economic system.