Abstract

While corruption exists throughout post-communist Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, the situation has in recent years improved in some countries while deteriorating in others. This article maps the corruption patterns, both in terms of where the problem is more and less acute, and regarding apparent bivariate correlations. While most of the latter are more or less in line with global patterns - wealthier and more democratic countries appear to have lower corruption rates, for instance - there are also some surprises. Thus Russia emerges as more corrupt than its GDP per capita would suggest it should be, while Georgia performs far better than would be expected. A key factor explaining deviant cases is the political will of the leadership combined with that leadership’s control of the political system; political will is a necessary but insufficient condition

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