Crime and corruption in new democracies
Subtitle: the politics of (in)security
By: Jon Moran
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 233
ISBN-13: 9780230237414
Subjects: Democratization; Social aspects; Political aspects; Corruption; New democracies; Crime
Description: Covering countries as diverse as Brazil and Guatemala, Thailand, Russia and occupied Iraq, this book examines the way democratization may lead to changes in crime. Case studies examine violent and sexual crime and their links to political change. The book also explores the way democracy itself may generate cycles of violence sometimes greater than the previous regime as states adopt hard-line policies to crime. However, the author sets democracy and crime in perspective, arguing that organized crime is not the threat to democracy many policy makers and academics claim. Generally, whilst crime and corruption are changed by democratization and crime may rise markedly, democracies are remarkably resilient. This book also examines democratization and corruption, and provides a new perspective on the relationship between the two, arguing that political power has been sidelined in explanations of corruption.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-228) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Democratisation and the decentralisation of crime and corruption; title: Democratization and political corruption: bringing politics back in; title: Learning to live without fear: organised crime and democratisation; title: Violent democracies: cycles of crime, politics and violence; title: Legacies of violence: murder and violent crime in El Salvador and Guatemala; title: State collapse, democratisation and informal power in Iraq; title: Conclusion.