Eurozone Crisis. Theoretical Case Study of Greece's Political Corruption

The focus of this thesis entails the sociological assessment of political corruption within Greece’s culture and how it has influenced the nation’s present economic status. This investigation is important in order to assess the political and societal causes of Greece’s economic crisis in accordance with the state’s survival in the Eurozone. The research approach adopted in this dissertation includes theoretical evaluations of political corruption, an analysis of the democratic groundwork in Greece, and an extended review of the Ottoman Empire’s taxation methods. The findings of this analysis provide evidence that the governments of Greece reciprocally influenced the fiscal disposition of the private sector, which in turn nominated the governments based on individual preferences. This cycle is a result of the public sector’s mismanagement and the inability to establish an efficient structure upon with the society can fully rely. Thus, the main conclusions drawn from this study are that the Ottoman Empire and its tax ratiocination is a precursor for the nation’s current tax evasion norm, the democratic foundation upon which the political sphere was built caused incentive for bureaucratic corruption, and through the undermining of the society during unorganized government transitions emerged local corruption practices. This dissertation found that these factors contributed heavily, if not caused, the recession in Greece during the Eurozone crisis.