Political Logics of Anticorruption Efforts in Asia

"Corruption plagues all countries, be they democratic or authoritarian. Just as endemic are anti-corruption demands. In The Political Logics of Anti-Corruption Efforts in Asia contributors examine the political dynamics behind anti-corruption efforts. Examining seven cases across Asia--a region notable for its political diversity, challenging environment for fighting corruption, and multifarious anti-corruption outcomes--this volume suggests that anti-corruption strategy may be associated more closely with shifting bases of regime legitimacy than with regime type itself. Specifically, disagreements over what constitutes corruption, what enables corruption, and how to combat corruption not only offer premises from which political actors may challenge their opponents, but also shape the trajectories of anti-corruption efforts. Underlying these disagreements, furthermore, is contention over the basis of regime legitimacy, driven by three often competing, yet sometimes overlapping motivations: private interests, party loyalty, and political institutionalization. Examining the varying roles anti-corruption efforts play in solidifying or challenging democratic and non-democratic institutions and legitimacy, as well as the broader political and economic contexts that gave rise to these efforts, the case studies within this volume shed light on the divergent ways in which states control and respond to political elites and the society at large, and on how citizens from across strata understand and engage with their states"--