Ketevan Bolkvadze
Biträdande universitetslektor
To Reform or to Retain? Politicians’ Incentives to Clean Up Corrupt Courts in Hybrid Regimes
Författare
Summary, in English
This article offers a novel take on the problem of judicial independence in nondemocracies. Some scholars hold that political fragmentation leads to more judicial independence; others argue that it leads to less independence in nondemocracies. These studies have focused on judicial politicization and neglected judicial corruption. Using a process-tracing controlled comparison of reforms in Georgia and Moldova, I investigate the impact of political fragmentation on judicial corruption. I argue that politicians in less fragmented regimes, as in Georgia, have stronger incentives to reform corrupt courts, and utilize anticorruption measures for establishing long-term political control. In more fragmented regimes, as in Moldova, politicians have stronger incentives to resist anticorruption measures and instead utilize corrupt courts for short-term private gains. These findings suggest that political fragmentation in hybrid regimes can propel politicians to delegate neither more, nor less power to courts, but instead to use distinct avenues, or “entry-points,” to influence judicial outcomes.
Avdelning/ar
- Statsvetenskapliga institutionen
Publiceringsår
2020
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
500-530
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Comparative Political Studies
Volym
53
Issue
3-4
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
SAGE Publications
Ämne
- Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)
Nyckelord
- corruption
- Georgia
- hybrid regimes
- judiciary
- Moldova
- process-tracing
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 0010-4140