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1. Political Corruption and Partisan Engagement: Evidence from Brazil

Author:
Matthew S. Winters and Rebecca Wietz-Shapiro
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
In long-standing democracies, the partisan attachments of most citi- zens are stable and not responsive to short-term political events. Recent studies from younger democracies, however, suggest that partisanship may be more malleable in these contexts. In this paper we develop hypotheses about how political corruption might affect voter attachment to the parties of corrupt offi- cials or to the party system as a whole. Using data from an original survey exper- iment in Brazil, we show that prompts about political corruption shift patterns of partisan attachment for highly educated respondents – specifically, that cor- ruption associated with one political party reduces nonpartisanship and signifi- cantly increases identification with other political parties. In contrast, we find that information on corruption has no consistent measurable effect on partisan- ship for less educated respondents. We conclude by discussing the implications of malleable partisanship for democratic accountability.
Topic:
Corruption, Democracy, Accountability, and Participation
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and Latin America

2. Rethinking Democratic Governance: State Building, Autonomy, and Accountability in Correa’s Ecuador

Author:
James David Bowen
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper argues that rather than theorize state building and democracy separately, we should direct our attention to studying the dual construction of democratic states. To do so, we must understand the contradictory relationship between the concentration of power needed to build state institutions and the constraints on this power dictated by the norms of liberal democracy. I present an outline for studying state build- ing and democratic governance and illustrate my argument with a study of Ecuador. I argue that stable democracy must rest on three pillars: effective state institutions, the autonomy of these institutions from other powerful actors, and the existence of meaningful institutions of account- ability. The challenge is that efforts to strengthen one or more of these pillars are likely to undermine the others. I argue that Ecuador, particu- larly under the Correa administration, has experienced substantial achievements in the area of institution building, has a mixed record with regards to autonomy, and offers little in the way of accountability.
Topic:
Governance, Democracy, Accountability, State Building, and Autonomy
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Ecuador

3. Low-Level Corruption Tolerance: An “Action-Based” Approach for Peru and Latin America

Author:
Joseph Pozsgai Alvarez
Publication Date:
08-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Since the beginning of the past decade, the tolerance of cor- ruption by citizens of most Latin American countries has become a con- cept in its own right within the broader study of corruption. This con- struct, however, lacks a systematic approach and is yet to account for specific types of corruption tolerance or identify appropriate indicators to measure them. The present study addresses these voids by analyzing data provided by LAPOP’s AmericasBarometer 2006 for Peru (a typical case for the incidence of bribery in Latin America) and the Global Cor- ruption Barometer against a carefully constructed framework for the understanding of the phenomenon of corruption tolerance. The results indicate that attitudes toward specific types of low-level corruption should not be equated to citizens’ decisions to engage in such behavior. They further suggest that the study of corruption tolerance has the po- tential to greatly improve our understanding of the determinants of cor- ruption in developing countries.
Topic:
Corruption, Developing World, and Accountability
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Peru