CORRUPTION, INSTITUTIONALIZATION, AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT - THE REVISIONIST THESES REVISTED

• NCJ Number: 64698
• Journal: COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (APRIL 1974) Pages: 63-83
• Author(s): G BEN-DOR
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 21 pages
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey (Cross-Cultural)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS PAPER FOCUSES ON THE REVISIONIST THEORIES OF CORRUPTION APPLICABLE TO RELATIVELY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES BY ANALYZING CORRUPTION IN A DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE.

Abstract

IT EVALUATES THE THEORETICAL TENETS OF THE REVISIONISTS IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF DEVELOPMENT TO SUGGEST QUALIFICATIONS AND REFINEMENTS. THE REVISIONIST SCHOOL ATTEMPTS TO SPECIFY THE POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF CORRUPTION TO DEVELOPMENT, BOTH POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC, AND TO EMPHASIZE THE UNAVOIDABLE CHARACTER OF CORRUPTION AT CERTAIN STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT AND IT'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO PROCESSES OF MODERNIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT. THREE MAJOR CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS HAVE INFLUENCED REVISIONIST THEORY: (1) THE STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALIST SCHOOL, ARGUING THAT CORRUPTION FULFILLS IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS NEGLECTED BY OFFICIAL STRUCTURES; (2) THE ECONOMIC-MARKET SCHOOLS, TREATING CORRUPTION AS AN ALLOCATIVE MARKET MECHANISM IN PERIODS OF SCARCITY; AND (3) THE INSTITUTIONALIST SCHOOL, OFFERING A COMPREHENSIVE THEORY LINKING CORRUPTION WITH CHANGES IN SOCIAL STRUCTURE, POLITICAL ATTITUDES, AND ORGANIZATIONS. THESE THESES ARE RELATED TO SITUATIONS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TO HIGHLIGHT THE ORIGINS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF CORRUPTION AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. THE ANALYSIS FOUND THAT THE MODELS DESIGNED BY THE FUNCTIONAL-INTEGRATIONIST AND MARKET-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SCHOOLS DID NOT SEEM TO BE HELPFUL AT THE LATER STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. THE MOST APPLICABLE MODEL WAS THAT OF THE INSTITUTIONALISTS. ALTHOUGH THEIR EXPLANATIONS OF THE ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES OF CORRUPTION WERE QUESTIONABLE, THEY OFFER A COMPREHENSIVE THEORY LINKING CORRUPTION WITH CHANGES IN SOCIAL STRUCTURE, POLITICAL ATTITUDES, AND ORGANIZATIONS. CORRUPTION IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DOES SEEM TO INVOLVE INSTITUTIONALIZATION TO A CRUCIAL EXTENT. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED, HOWEVER, TO IDENTIFY AND REFINE ROLES THAT CORRUPTION PLAYS AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION. NOTES AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (MJW)