Barrier to Democracy: Corruption in Former Soviet Eastern Europe

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Northern Kentucky University

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.

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Keywords

Democracy, Corruption, Eastern Europe

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