CORRUPTION Syndromes of Corruption

Influence Markets 63
highly visible. The US, by contrast, is a federal state with multiple branches
of government, decentralized political campaigns, and thousands of local
jurisdictions. Important decisions are made at all levels and access points
proliferate, yet dealings between local mayors and contributors are unlikely
to figure in international rankings. Germany too is a federal state whose
Land and city governments spend major sums on construction; bribery and
extortion have been problems at that level (Seibel, 1997:85–86).Allthree
have active private economies and civil societies comparatively free from
intervention by, or dependence upon, government. Most decisions and
transactions in these countries are private, and politics and legal systems
reflect that fact. American scandals like Enron, WorldCom, and other
corporate fraud, sexual abuse of children within the Roman Catholic
Church, diversions of funds and dubious accounting by United Way charities
(New York Times, January 23, 2003), conflicts of interest among top
leaders of the US Olympic Committee (New York Times,January26,2003,
2 March 2003), and abuses in the world of intercollegiate athletics involve
mostly private dealings. While these three countries probably do have more
success at controlling corruption than many others, it is difficult to say how
large the difference is.
A focus on elections
Influence Markets do not rely on any one technique, nor do societies in
this category have just one form of corruption. The targets can include
electoral, legislative, judicial, and bureaucratic officials and processes;
private or public figures may take the initiative. Germany, Japan, and the
US have a variety of corrupt practices in common, such as abuses in local
contracting and (less often in Germany) police corruption. But the funding
of political campaigns is the most widely debated corruption concern
in each and will be our primary focus in this chapter. It raises critical
participation and institutional issues: what constitutes fair and responsive
politics in competitive market societies? Can abuses be restrained without
threatening important values? Influence Market dealings – some of them
legal – can threaten the vitality and competitiveness of politics, the openness
of economies, and the accountability of institutions. Reforms can at
times make such problems worse.
Financing campaigns in the United States: who has
the upper hand?
Concern over the role of money in American politics pre-dates the republic.
Campaigns for the Virginia House of Burgesses by such luminaries as