Spain: Corruption, Weak Institutionalization, Unfinished Democratization

摘要

In their article "Social and Political Consequences of Administrative Corruption: A Study of Public Perceptions in Spain," Manuel Villoria, Gregg G. Van Ryzin, and Cecilia F. Lavena make an important contribution to our understanding of the effects of corruption in countries with a relatively recent experience of dictatorship, a political class still displaying a weak democratic culture, and fragile institutions, of which Spain may be considered a case in point. In a nutshell, their contribution states, first, that political and administrative corruption in Spain reveals weak institutionalization of democratic public governance and, second, that corruption has a negative impact on the behavior of the population. Corruption makes the population cynical about the rule of law, destroys the social fabric of trust, and makes citizens aloof from democratic politics.