http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/corruption Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sat, 13 Jun 2026 05:47:40 -0400 Sat, 13 Jun 2026 05:47:40 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1721/the-changing-arena-of-power-contestation-between-the-state-and-chaebols-in-south-korea-democracy-and-the-ascent-of-legal-institutions By Tan A. Seng - The growth of the South Korean economy has often been attributed to the rise of Chaebols, or family owned businesses with wide-ranging conglomeratelike economic interests. The embeddedness of the Chaebol in Korea's political economy has allowed them to emerge as a major actor, with significant influence in the political arena – as a result of their role as stabilizers of the economy. This is a significant development, considering the relatively weaker position of the Chaebol vis-à-vis the state, under authoritarian rule. With democratization and their association with South Korea'... Thu, 30 Nov 2017 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1721/the-changing-arena-of-power-contestation-between-the-state-and-chaebols-in-south-korea-democracy-and-the-ascent-of-legal-institutions http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1633/how-have-corruption-scandals-and-president-roussefs-impeachment-in-brazil-impacted-its-economy By Flvia Bedicks - In 2009, Brazil was in the path to become a superpower. Immune to the economic crises of 2008, the country's economy benefitted from the commodity boom, achieving a growth rate of 7.5 per cent in 2010, when Rousseff was elected. A few years later, nonetheless, Brazil's boom turned into an economic bust. In 2014, the largest corruption scandal in its history denounced the involvement of major politicians, including then-President Rousseff, in schemes of money laundering. In this essay, I analyze the impacts of such scandals and Rousseff's impeachment on the Brazilian economy. I argue that these... Sun, 30 Apr 2017 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1633/how-have-corruption-scandals-and-president-roussefs-impeachment-in-brazil-impacted-its-economy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1418/state-failure-in-the-south-pacific-and-southeast-asia-the-importance-of-australias-response-for-national-and-regional-stability By David A. Smith - The occurrence of state failure is an important concern for Australia as it pertains to the security and stability of the broader region (Ezrow & Frantz 2013, pp. 16-17). Rotberg (2003, p. 1) defines state failure as the result of internal violence and corruption that leads to a situation where “positive goods can no longer be delivered to the inhabitants,” leading to a loss of legitimacy. Responding to so called failed states and states that are heading towards failure is essential in maintaining regional security. For Australia, areas of concern include the South Pacific Islands... Thu, 02 Jun 2016 09:38 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1418/state-failure-in-the-south-pacific-and-southeast-asia-the-importance-of-australias-response-for-national-and-regional-stability http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1414/angola-1990-2000-oil-democracy-and-a-successful-failed-state By Eric Wilcox - Four decades after independence from Portugal, Angola remains a country with significant barriers to good governance and social development. Although the state's constitution established a multiparty democracy in the early 1990s, measures of high poverty and low state provision of public goods, in addition to high levels of corruption from the Angolan executive government headed by President José Eduardo dos Santos, do not equate with the proclaimed status of a democracy. Through an analysis of Angola's attempts at and challenges in democratization, particularly in the decade of the constitutional... Mon, 23 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1414/angola-1990-2000-oil-democracy-and-a-successful-failed-state http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1397/china-and-india-in-africa-implications-of-new-private-sector-actors-on-bribe-paying-incidence By Sankalp Gowda - This paper seeks to address one of the most common critiques of Asian firms doing business in Africa: that low levels of corporate governance and poor managerial practices have undermined anti-corruption efforts throughout the continent. The paper first details and analyzes the managerial practices of Indian and Chinese firms to distinguish what factors might make these firms more likely to pay bribes. Next, it uses data from the 2006-2014 World Bank Enterprise Surveys to empirically test the claim that the presence of Indian and Chinese firms has increased bribe-paying incidence in African countries... Mon, 25 Apr 2016 08:44 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1397/china-and-india-in-africa-implications-of-new-private-sector-actors-on-bribe-paying-incidence http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1376/the-resource-curse-in-nigeria-comparing-the-security-of-offshore-and-onshore-oil-production By Mary L. Kleinpeter - Developing states with large natural resource industries have an inclination to become over-reliant on one source of capital, causing other industries to fail, promoting corruption, and stimulating crime. Nigeria is one such case, as their booming oil industry has lead to the creation of new militant groups who target petroleum production sites to either loot oil, kidnap for ransom, or damage infrastructure. In the past decade, major international drilling companies such as Royal Dutch Shell have begun to focus their drilling operations offshore in the Niger Delta in result of the increasing attacks... Wed, 09 Mar 2016 01:20 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1376/the-resource-curse-in-nigeria-comparing-the-security-of-offshore-and-onshore-oil-production http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1057/corruption-and-graft-in-post-conflict-afghanistan By Parag R. Dharmavarapu - With the departure of international forces and the exit of Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan has entered a new age. While Afghanistan’s GDP has quintupled to $20 billion since 2002, the war-torn country remains one of the world’s most impoverished, insecure and corrupt nations. The poverty rate has remained close to 36% since 2012 and Transparency International ranked Afghanistan as the world’s third most corrupt nation in 2014 ("World Development Indicators ," 2014; “Corruption by Country/Territory,” 2014). Fully 61% of people polled reported paying a bribe, and 34% of them... Wed, 22 Jul 2015 04:59 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1057/corruption-and-graft-in-post-conflict-afghanistan http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/924/inequality-and-corruption-drivers-of-tunisias-revolution By Dor Srebernik - Many analysts argue that the reason Tunisia fulfilled a democratic transition is that their Islamist Ennahda party is more moderate and inclined toward civilian political order than its Islamist counterparts in other countries, such as Egypt. Ennahda’s willingness to engage in constructive dialogue with secularists in writing a constitution is viewed as the main factor behind the democratic transition. However, this popular approach underemphasizes the main driving forces behind the Tunisian revolution, which are the underlying economic inequalities and structure of the country’s patronage... Mon, 13 Oct 2014 05:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/924/inequality-and-corruption-drivers-of-tunisias-revolution http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/859/the-chinese-pollution-problem-and-the-politics-of-airpocalypse By Vikrant Bhatnagar - In 1992 during his famed Southern Trip, Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader of the Communist Party of China, proclaimed that "To Get Rich Is Glorious[1]." This slogan ignited the economic revolution in China. It is through this very notion of economic productivity and the search for wealth that China also adopted another motto – growth at all costs. Two decades later, China is no longer the third world country that Deng Xiaoping lived in, but an economic powerhouse that has turned a blind eye towards its environment. Whether you look outward towards the water, or inward towards the land,... Fri, 17 Jan 2014 11:35 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/859/the-chinese-pollution-problem-and-the-politics-of-airpocalypse http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/849/who-is-king-of-sarawaks-rainforest-an-insight-to-sarawaks-land-corruption-led-by-its-chief-minister-and-his-family By Tisha Raj - Malaysia's 13th General Elections were hopes of many to be the turning point of change, breaking Barisan Nasional's (BN or National Front) 56 years of governance. BN in recent years had been plagued with allegations of corruption and cronyism. Land grabs in the state of Sarawak, exposed an intricate and systematic corruption that happens in all levels of government in Malaysia. The perils of the rainforest in Sarawak are uncovered through a corrupt systematic mass deforestation through the governance of its Chief Minister Taib Mahmud. Was Malaysia's latest election successful in dethroning Taib... Fri, 10 Jan 2014 10:06 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/849/who-is-king-of-sarawaks-rainforest-an-insight-to-sarawaks-land-corruption-led-by-its-chief-minister-and-his-family http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1604/busted-by-the-feds-government-corruption-and-drug-trafficking By Erica Thomas - The international drug trade and the power of drug cartels have perplexed both analysts and policy makers for years. As drug production and trade grow, cartels have climbed to unthinkable heights of power and, in some cases, have crippled governments. This study explores this problem and attempts to answer the predominant question raised: why do states struggle to eradicate such powerful drug cartels and drug trafficking organizations? While multiple schools of thought emerge that answer this question, research finds that existing literature shows little quantitative and holistic analysis of government... Fri, 31 May 2013 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1604/busted-by-the-feds-government-corruption-and-drug-trafficking http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/734/corruption-driven-reform-chinas-economic-reforms-in-the-post-mao-period By Duy D. Trinh - Corruption is damaging in almost every economic aspect, but it can play a crucial role in the dynamics of political changes and reforms. Examination of corruption’s effect in the economic reforms of China during the 1980s reveals that corruption helped counterbalance the local provinces’ resistance to reforms. Specifically, corruption motives, rather than political motives, were the driver behind the local leaders’ decision to support the reforms despite their loss in status and privilege. Corruption could act as a vehicle of exit; it could also provide financial compensation... Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:48 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/734/corruption-driven-reform-chinas-economic-reforms-in-the-post-mao-period http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/643/the-political-returns-of-philanthropy-the-case-of-tammany-hall By Robin S. Kigel - New York’s 1827 mayoral election was the harbinger for a new era in politics. Tammany Hall—New York’s democratic political machine—suborned thousands of immigrants to vote for the pro-Tammany ticket. With cartloads of Irish in tow, ward leaders hurriedly moved from one polling place to the next allowing their passengers to cast as many as six votes apiece. In exchange for their vote the Irish received largesse such as food, clothing, or even cash. Back at New York City’s almshouse, inmates were also drawn into the democratic process at the behest of Tammany ward leaders... Tue, 15 May 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/643/the-political-returns-of-philanthropy-the-case-of-tammany-hall http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/223/major-development-challenges-facing-the-republic-of-angola-completing-the-democratic-transition-and-making-government-work By Dustin R. Turin -  Contemporary Angola must be regarded as the product of a deeply conflicted history. From the moment independence was declared in November 1975, the country was launched into an intense civil war that in the end claimed up to a million lives, destroyed most legitimate economic activity, and rendered vast swathes of the country useless, inundated with landmines. As a result of this legacy, there now exists a “generation of mutilados”—‘mutilated ones’—within the Angolan populace (Meredith 2006: 610). Indeed, Angola’s post-independence history reveals... Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/223/major-development-challenges-facing-the-republic-of-angola-completing-the-democratic-transition-and-making-government-work