Abstract:
One of the difficulties that a country faces when working toward democratization
is the corruption that may run rampant in their government. This paper will analyze
corruption in government and how it affects democracy, particularly in four of
the former Soviet Union countries that are located in Eastern Europe: Moldova,
Ukraine, Belarus, and Georgia. Qualitative and quantitative analysis is provided
regarding each of the four former Soviet Union countries listed. By using the
Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores given by Transparency International,
the countries are compared and contrasted in order to examine how their
corruption has changed over time and how their situations and governments
have affected their level of corruption. Scores given to each of the countries by
Freedom House are also used to compare democracy. CPI and Freedom House
scores are used in conjunction to analyze the relationship between corruption
and democracy and to locate a correlation between the two. After analysis of the
democracy and levels of corruption in each country in the study and seeing the
correlation, it is clear that democracy and corruption affect each other.
