Corruption in Political Systems

Introduction

Corruption is an act of abuse of an entrusted power for a personal gain (Philp 61). Corruption is mostly perpetrated by those who ascend to power then use their position to sustain their power and wealth fraudulently. While corruption is evidenced in all parts of the world, the degree of corruption varies from one country to another. This paper discusses corruption cases in Germany, Russia, USA, Romania, Nigeria, and Korea. Special focus is made on effects of corruption on political, social, and economic sectors of each country. By comparison of corruption issues in these countries, it is evident that strict measures against corruption perpetrators are crucial for the positive economic growth of any country.

Corruption in Political Systems

Germany has a good rating in corruption issues in political systems. The German system of government rallies for openness in relations between the citizens and politics. Nevertheless, there are a couple of areas that still require improvements. It should be a public knowledge that any form of corruption by parliamentarians should be illegalized, but in Germany only buying and selling of votes is punishable. The anti-corruption unit in this country should thus venture into deeper roots in political issues. The Russian government is one of the recent systems to embrace democracy, but the political system remains seriously tainted by corruption. There is a massive influence on power by one man Vladimir Putin. All political parties are notionally for democracy and against corruption, but do nothing to tackle corruption issues.

The United States (US) also experience substantial corruption issues in the political system. The politics in this country is that in which wealthy individuals influence the government. The wealthy elite sways political issues to favor themselves. A recent Transparency International survey report indicates that US citizens believe there is presently massive corruption issues in their country which affect their economic growth (Escresa, & Lucio 201). In Romania, corruption issue remains a thorn in the political system of this country. The government through majority political party, PSD party, intends to decriminalize corruption cases of sums lower than £38,000. Such proposals threaten to create a state of acceptable theft whereby petty offences like voter bribery go unpunished. Ideally, Romania does not have an elaborate system to resolve corruption problems on political issues.

Transparency International has ranked Nigeria as the most corrupt country in Africa. The political corruption is the highest in this country. Massive corrupt practices are observed in joining political parties. People rig themselves into occupying political positions with an aim that they would use their positions to loot public funds. Once they embezzle public resources, the political leaders invest in foreign countries to avoid detection by the public watch. The patriarchal relationship structuring is the main contributor to corruption cases in Korea. Corruption within the political leadership in Korea stems from the popular patriarchal relation inspired by the Confucian culture in this country. The Confucian culture has contributed to widespread corruption cases because of the simultaneous decline in the traditional Confucian morality which lobbied for ethics in political leadership.

Corruption in Business Organizations

Business institutions in Germany show corruption instances, but not as high as in other countries. Businesses show the second most corruption instances after political parties in Germany. Even in the corrupt businesses, corruption is always concealed. Mostly, corruption cases in business institutions are petty cases. In Russia, there is a common perception that it is impossible to do business without involving in corruption successfully. However, contrary to the perception, individual business have employed various strategies to reduce their exposure to corrupt cases. The businesses are striving to cope with international anti-corruption standards to ensure they are accepted to transact their businesses.

In the US, Americans believe there is so much widespread corruption in businesses that it is difficult to trust in financial institutions. Major Wall Street banks have, for instance, triggered a financial meltdown in which billions of dollars have disappeared to unsuspecting investors and some home owners. The result has been the infamous recession period which left the country in economic turmoil. Corruption cases are worse considering that the perpetrators are barely held accountable. The high-rolling bankers are regarded as “too big to jail.” Despite being one of the the countries with the fastest growing economies, Romania remains behind in its quest for the fight against corruption. Public officials take advantage of their high ranking positions to evade taxes. The global financial integrity (GFI) study reported that $2.5 billion is invested in foreign countries from Romania every year (Kuzio 135). Similarly, several businesspeople including government officials have been sentenced to prison terms by courts after conviction for money laundering and bribery cases. Such cases show that there is commendable effort shown by the Romanian government to fight against corruption in the financial sector.

In Nigeria, there are massive corruption cases involving businesses and financial institutions. Companies involve in various bribery encounters and other corrupt practices. The most corrupt business sector in the oil sector. This is a big blow to the Nigerian economy since oil is the main source of income in the country. Engagement in corrupt scandals involving the oil sector, therefore, contributes to falling in the economy the country. Korea is a signatory to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) convention which operates to fight bribery in its member countries. Companies, both local and foreign, are held liable for any corrupt practice that ensues in their institutions. Companies found to have violated foreign bribery laws are liable to imprisonment of five years. Additionally, foreign companies can be charged with the offence committed by their employees or representatives. The result is that Korean government has substantial policies aimed at fighting against corrupt dealings in business and financial institutions.

Corruption in Labor Organizations

For the labor institutions, Germany has laid-down policies to fight exploitations at the workplaces. There are strict policies that are taken against those who violate workers or involve in unethical practices such as employing underage workers. There are minimal reports on corrupt dealings about labor practices as a result of strict measures taken against any violator. In Russia, there are a lot of migrants in the country getting employment with other Russians. Due to irregular migration policies in Russia, there are too many foreign workers in the country which promote unwarranted labor works in the country. Middle-class individuals in Russia take advantage of a large number of immigrants to corruptly employ laborers who provide cheap labors. Such instances will soon lead to a rise in migrant labors which may lead to increase in corrupt dealings in securing laborers.

In the US, people have lost trust in labor unions because they have done very little in protecting workers against corrupt dealings. People believe such labor unions associate with groups that dislike businesses to promote their corrupt ventures in the labor sector. Nonetheless, most trade unions in the US are adored by their members because of transparency exhibited by their officials. The union officials’ salaries are made public to its members which implies that they are open to any public scrutiny. In as much as disclosure of personal properties does not prevent corruption, such transparency at least earns trust to a member of the unions on their officials.

In Nigeria, there is a public outcry on the rise in corruption levels which has negatively impacted on labor organizations. Labor unions complain that massive corruption in Nigeria has led to decrease in minimum wages for workers. The low pension and minimum wage proposed by the government are not only illegitimate, but also points at how far corruption levels have risen in Nigeria. In Korea, there are fewer corruption cases in the labor sector compared to other developing countries. However, there are still notable corruption scandals involving select labor unions. Some labor unions are notorious in soliciting for money from jobseekers before such people can secure the employment. The affected labor organizations are facing public out-roar as most people are opting to do without joining such labor unions. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) has specifically been involved in scandalous cases where its management is accused of embezzling funds besides asking for unnecessary member fees.

Corruption in the Education Sector

Corruption in the education sector should arguably be the most important aspect of consideration by educators, students, governments and other stakeholders. This is because education is the key to various leading positions in any organization such that any unscrupulous motive in the attainment of education can vastly affect many groups (Osipian 357). Corruption in the education sector affects both the developed and the developing countries almost n the same measure. In Germany, for instance, has faced corruption allegations in one of its educational consulting firms, the Cologne suburb of Bergisch Gladbach which was accused of soliciting for bribery to issue its clients with Ph.D. degrees. Several other professors have seen been found guilty of bestowing doctoral degrees in exchange for bribes. In Russia, there is an alarming corrupt case involving education sector. Nearly half of Russian students have been involved in corrupt dealings including bribery for Ph.D. admissions and for obtaining good grades.

The US also experiences corruption issues in its education sector. Accessibility to an educational institution is a vital aspect of academia, lack of it hugely affects educationalists. Financial aids granted to students in the US has met uphill task in its implementation. This would go a long way to influencing the number of people accessing educational institutions. The financial aid officers often experience a conflict of interest in regards to profit-sharing and institutional benefits before giving out such grants. Moreover, there are corruption cases in the educational institutions in regards to embezzlement of funds sent by the government for development purposes in the institutions. Cheating during examinations is also another challenge in the education sector in the US. Students collude with colleagues to unfairly get assistance in examination periods which affects the legitimacy of degrees obtained from such institutions.

The case is not different in Nigeria. Nigeria boasts of the largest education system in Africa, but the education sector is hampered by corrupt dealings within. Corruption in the education system in Nigeria is mainly observed in academic staff promotions, during the publication of books and journals, as well as extortion of money before giving out marks or handouts. Also, powerful people in the country such as politicians are notorious for buying fake degrees after colluding with corrupt university administrators. Plagiarism is another vice common in educational institutions in Nigeria, as in other countries. Plagiarism entails copying part or whole of another person’s work in individual research work. Plagiarism is taken as such a serious academic crime that plagiarism detection software has been developed to help curtail the vice. Plagiarism is also common in Romanian schools where teachers and students are sometime found to have plagiarized some papers. The National Alliance of Student Organization in Romania urged the government to give harsher penalties to people found culpable to such corrupt issues. In Korea, corrupt dealings in educational institutions are mainly observed in private schools. This is occasioned by lack of effective management practices in such institutions. There are poor oversight mechanisms by the government on private educational institutions. According to Kalinowski South Korea has been successful in dealing with corrupt cases especially in the education sector so much that there are just select cases still available (630).

Corruption in Religious Institutions

A religious organization is expected to be a source of inspiration for its members. People join religious groups for spiritual nourishments for people who join these organizations. The spiritual growth is sometimes aided, but sometimes hindered by the same religious organizations. It has, therefore, become a common idea to avoid relying on any individual, not even religious leaders, for personal spiritual growth. The oldest religious institution, the Catholic, for instance, has been accused of involvement in corrupt cases in many countries. In Germany, such corrupt cases have involved some clergy who attempt to cover up fellow clergymen accused of child abuse. Moreover, there are common reports of tribalism and favoritism in securing leadership positions in religious organizations in Germany. This is not only unethical, but it also discourages the “sheep” who vest all their trust in their “shepherds.” Similar practices are common in the US religious leaders abuse their positions to mislead their followers.

In Russia, there is a constitutional provision for religious freedom, but such laws are rendered null and void due to existent discrimination among the religious groups. The dominant religious group in Russia and Romania, the Orthodox Church, is often given preferential treatment. The minority religious groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Muslim community find difficulties in running their organizations because of continued threats to possible bans and difficulties in registration. Furthermore, individuals affiliated with certain religious groups often face discrimination in Russia and Romania. In Nigeria and Korea, the government recognizes religious groups and allows all citizens to adopt any religion that suits them. The sorry state of affairs is that the religious groups engage in practices that discourage their followers. Some religious groups are only established for a sole purpose of attracting followers from whom they get money. The groups are often led by an individual who appoints a close confidant like a spouse to be the assistant and another close person to be the treasurer. Such practices only serve self-interest, but not the intended purpose of spiritual preparation.

Conclusion

Corruption has become a thorn in the flesh of many individuals and their countries. While some countries have developed strict measures to contain the vice, other countries have failed and instead corruption cases continue to thrive in such countries. Countries such as Germany and South Korea have developed strict measures against corrupt individuals. Their economies have since improved. The annual income and employment rates have gone higher in these countries. The other countries comprising Romania, Russia, Nigeria, and the US are still lagging behind in the fight against corruption. Especially in Nigeria, the corruption level has soared so much that it remains one of the poorest countries despite possessing an important resource in oil. The employment rate in these countries remains low due to the predominant corrupt dealings in securing jobs. When there are low employment rates, the country’s economy will lag. The result is an increase in living standards for these countries.

Works Cited

Escresa, Laarni, and Lucio Picci. “A new cross-national measure of corruption.” The World Bank Economic Review31.1 (2017): 196-219.

Kalinowski, Thomas. “Trends and mechanisms of corruption in South Korea.” The Pacific Review 29.4 (2016): 625-645.

Kuzio, Taras. “Analysis of current events: Structural impediments to reforms in Ukraine.” Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 24.2 (2016): 131-138.

Osipian, Ararat L. “Corruption in higher education: Does it differ across the nations and why?.” Research in comparative and international education 3.4 (2008): 345-365.

Philp, Mark. “Corruption Definition and Measurement.” Measuring corruption. Routledge, 2016. 61-72.