From Sofia to Brussels Corrupt Democratization in the Context of European Integration (Defective Democracies) (Report‪)‬

Defining the problem The phenomenon of corruption enjoys an increasing amount of attention worldwide at least since the political change of 1989. The growing number of corruption surveys commissioned by different international organizations and research institutes, as well as the almost daily press releases about corruption affairs within local and national administrations, political parties, multinational companies, even in international organizations (1) demonstrates firstly that the topic of corruption is undoubtedly on the rise, and secondly that the phenomenon obviously affects all societies, social systems, institutions and states. It is undisputable however, that in some countries, and especially in times of intensive developmental periods corruption can have a devastating impact on society, politics and economy.