Corruption Control in Authoritarian Regimes
Lessons from East Asia

Reveals how meaningful corruption control by authoritarian regimes is surprisingly common and follows a different playbook than democratic anti-corruption reform.

Christopher Carothers (Author)

9781316513286, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 April 2022

293 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 2.2 cm, 0.581 kg

'The book deserves praise for its depth of analysis and for the broad scope of its argument.' Martin K. Dimitrov, The Developing Economies

Corruption is rampant in many authoritarian regimes, leading most observers to assume that autocrats have little incentive or ability to curb government wrongdoing. Corruption Control in Authoritarian Regimes shows that meaningful anti-corruption efforts by nondemocracies are more common and more often successful than is typically understood. Drawing on wide-ranging analysis of authoritarian anti-corruption efforts globally and in-depth case studies of key countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan over time, Dr. Carothers constructs an original theory of authoritarian corruption control. He disputes views that hold democratic or quasi-democratic institutions as necessary for political governance successes and argues that corruption control in authoritarian regimes often depends on a powerful autocratic reformer having a free hand to enact and enforce measures curbing government wrongdoing. This book advances our understanding of authoritarian governance and durability while also opening up new avenues of inquiry about the politics of corruption control in East Asia and beyond.

1. Introduction
2. Theory and Methodology
3. How the Kuomintang Cleaned House in Taiwan
4. Corruption Control in Authoritarian South Korea
5. The Chinese Communist Party's War Against Corruption, 1921–90
6. Xi Jinping's Campaign and the End of Political Liberalization
7. Anti-Corruption Efforts Around the Authoritarian World
8. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]