Political Corruption And The Abuse Of Power

Analysing political corruption as a distinct but separate entity from bureaucratic corruption, this timely book separates these two very different social phenomena in a way that is often overlooked in contemporary studies. Chapters argue that political corruption includes two basic, critical and related processes: extractive and power-preserving corruption.

Throughout history, gaining political power has frequently led to unethical behavior. It is difficult for people to resist the temptation to abuse their power. In the worst cases, this has led to political unrest, economic instability, and genocide. Readers learn what political corruption is, how it affects citizens' lives, and what can be done about it. Historical and modern examples are provided to give readers a comprehensive view of this important and timely topic. Informative charts and full-color photographs enhance the engaging text to show young adults the importance of civic engagement and political scrutiny to combat corruption.

In recent years, the media have been full of stories about ethical decline. Illegal dealings have been uncovered in the banking and savings and loan industries as well as the highest levels of Congress and government administration. Even television evangelism has been seriously tarnished by scandal. Corporate Corruption is the first wide ranging book to turn the spotlight on the unethical and illegal behavior of America's giant corporations and their executives: the prestigious Fortune 500. While avoiding the undignified zealotry of tabloid muck-raking, this well-researched volume explores corporate abuse and examines the disparity between the facts of corporate misconduct and the glowing image that advertising and other media portray of these corporations. Marshall Clinard identifies the auto, oil, pharmaceutical, and defense industries as the major offenders. He devotes a chapter to each of these areas in addition to chapters on corporate violence, corporate bribery, and a final discussion of how to correct these widespread abuses. Although their massive productive capacities and innovative powers have contributed immeasurably to the high standard of living that many Americans enjoy, far too often corporations have abused the public trust, the people who use their products, their own employees and stockholders, the environment, and even the Third World that they profess to help. From illegally disposing of hazardous waste to defiance of health and safety standards to price-fixing, corporate violations cost hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of lives. The magnitude of their offenses becomes clear when one considers that a single corporate offense may run into millions of dollars in losses, while the average cost of a burglary is $600 and the average larceny $400. In some cases, the cost of a single case of corporate misconduct may exceed a billion dollars. Having published three earlier books on corporate misbehavior and having received two grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to make specific corporate studies, Clinard is well-qualified to bring insight, experience, and unblinking scrutiny to what he describes as a story that must be told. Corporate Corruption is a must for anyone concerned about the widespread breakdown of ethics in contemporary society and the role played by large corporations when they abuse their power. It is also of interest to persons involved in business management, complex organizations, criminology, general ethics, and, in fact, to any responsible customer.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Washington insiders operate by a proven credo: When a Peter Schweizer book drops, duck and brace for impact. For over a decade, the work of six-time New York Times bestselling investigative reporter Peter Schweizer has sent shockwaves through the political universe. Clinton Cash revealed the Clintons’ international money flow, exposed global corruption, and sparked an FBI investigation. Secret Empires exposed bipartisan corruption and launched congressional investigations. And Throw Them All Out and Extortion prompted passage of the STOCK Act. Indeed, Schweizer’s “follow the money” bombshell revelations have been featured on the front pages of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and regularly appear on national news programs, including 60 Minutes. Now Schweizer and his team of seasoned investigators turn their focus to the nation’s top progressives—politicians who strive to acquire more government power to achieve their political ends. Can they be trusted with more power? In Profiles in Corruption, Schweizer offers a deep-dive investigation into the private finances, and secrets deals of some of America’s top political leaders. And, as usual, he doesn’t disappoint, with never-before-reported revelations that uncover corruption and abuse of power—all backed up by a mountain of corporate documents and legal filings from around the globe. Learn about how they are making sweetheart deals, generating side income, bending the law to their own benefits, using legislation to advance their own interests, and much more. Profiles in Corruption contains tomorrow’s headlines.

How high levels of corruption limit investment and growth can lead to ineffective government.

The legal definition of political corruption is an illegal act by a government officeholder who uses the power gained by the position for illegitimate private gain. Examples of political corruption include bribery, ethically questionable behavior, and conflicts of interest. This pertinent volume provides readers with an expansive survey on the topic of political corruption. Chapters discuss abuse of public office for private gain, the relationship between money and political corruption, and what efforts exist to curb political corruption.

The anatomy of a culture of abuse of power in Indonesia from the standpoint of criminology and law has an impact on deviations not only on the discretion of power and moral behavior of public officials In fact, many public officials abuse power by being corrupt or punished, even by severe law, even the perpetrators of power violations continue to commit corruption or it can be seen that there is no clear effect for corruptors However, it is a wrong system in the life of the nation and state, when public officials who depart from the people do not have the view of life as a nation and state as they should Therefore, in accordance with the views and suggestions of the author, this nation and state need to return to the joint system of life of the nation and state of Indonesia, namely implementing the points of practice and appreciation of the Pancasila precepts with truth rather than mere rhetoric, because the ideology of the Pancasila state has been built since the country was founded by the founding fathers This book is written by an academic who concerns about the abuse of power by public officials in exercising their power and authority This book is a compilation or anthology of articles of abuse of power in Indonesia that have been published in international journals indexed by Scopus, Copernicus, and direct open access Despite its weaknesses and strengths, the substance of this book has gained recognition from scientists at the international level .

From the spread of kleptocracy in Venezuela at the expense of the country's economy, to President Trump's appointment of family members to high-ranking White House positions, to President Lukashenko's desperate stranglehold on power in Belarus, across the world political corruption is rampant--indeed practically too ubiquitous to keep track of. As these examples illustrate, political corruption is often associated to a variety of instances of abuse of power that either derive from a vicious trait of individual character, or develop within deeply dysfunctional institutions. To Emanuela Ceva and Maria Paola Ferretti, however, this piecemeal view is inadequate: individual and institutional instances of political corruption have a common root that we can understand only by treating corruption and anticorruption as a matter of a public ethics of office. Political corruption is the Trojan horse that undermines public institutions from within via an interrelated action of officeholders. Even well-designed and legitimate institutions can veer off track if the officeholders fail through their conduct to uphold a public ethics of office accountability. This book offers an analytically rigorous definition of political corruption. It also investigates the common normative root of its two manifestations--corrupt individual character, and corrupt institutional mechanisms--as a relationally wrongful practice that consists of an unaccountable use of the power of office by officeholders in public institutions. From this perspective, political corruption must be understood from within, for it is an internal enemy of public institutions that can only be opposed by mobilizing the officeholders to remain accountable and mutually answerable for their conduct. In this way, anticorruption calls on the officeholders' responsibility to work together to maintain an interactively just institutional system.

This new edition of a 1999 classic shows how institutionalized corruption can be fought through sophisticated political-economic reform.

When politicians use their political power to privately benefit in an illegitimate manner, it is considered a fundamental threat to democracy. However, political corruption takes many forms, including bribery, extortion, influence peddling, and facilitating criminal enterprises. Additionally, there are certain cases that come across as ethically ambiguous: should campaign donations be considered a form of bribery? How can we prevent them from operating as a bribe? This volume looks at political corruption in the United States and beyond, exploring the factors that contribute to a culture of corruption and the possible means of combatting it.