Corruption in Romania: first steps towards a grounded theory of corruption - country report -

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Corruption in Romania first steps towards a
grounded theory of corruption- country report -

• Dr Iuliana Precupetu

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Objectives of the study

• Understand perceptions towards corruption held by
  various groups which have important roles in
  targeting corruption politics, media, civil
  society, economy, judiciary and police
• Reconstruct the argumentative patterns in regard
  to corruption based on documents elaborated by
  each group
• generate a substantive-level theory of
  corruption
• Highlight content (definitions, characteristics)
  of the core category of the study corruption
• Explore the causal conditions that influence the
  phenomenon
• Identify the actions or interactions that result
  from the central phenomenon
• Delineate the consequences of the phenomenon

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Methodology

• Grounded theory
• The assumption of the empirical approach is that
  the bottom-up definitions included within
  everyday theories of corruption are contained
  in social patterns of perception that actors
  apply in their actions.
• Consequently, they should be reconstructed from
  administrative and other official documents and
  statements of the target groups.

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Methodology

• Case study as a research strategy
• The case study was used as an inductive tool, in
  the attempt to shed light on the specificity of
  phenomenon and gain in depth understanding of
  aspects of corruption.
• Selection of case studies theoretical sampling.
• Three instances of corruption have been analysed
  
• Case study 1
• High level corruption Overlapping economic and
  political interests.
• Case study 2
• Corruption typical for a transition country The
  process of privatisation using public positions
  against public interests.
• Party funding

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Data collection

• Documents from the target groups field of
  activity related to corruption were collected.
• The general logic that guided selection of
  material was to start with case studies and try
  to identify position of each group on the
  respective case. When this was not possible, the
  analysis was completed with investigating general
  material on corruption.
• Constant comparative method of data analysis
• Data collection in a grounded theory study is a
  zigzag process out to the field to gather
  information, analyse the data, back to the field
  to gather more information, compare it to the
  emerging categories and so forth.
• The data sources have been theoretically chosen -
  in theoretical sampling. The process stopped when
  categories became saturated, and no information
  could be added.

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Material analysed

• Target group Politics transcripts of
  parliamentary debates from the Parliament, party
  programs, declarations of politicians.
• Target group Law prosecutors investigation
  reports from the National Anticorruption
  Directorate in case 1, case 2 and verdict by the
  Bucharest Court of Appeal on case 1, the report
  of the Court of Accounts and verdicts by the
  Bucharest Court of Appeal on party funding. Press
  releases by the National Anticorruption
  Directorate, transcripts of interviews by the
  current Minister of Justice, the national
  strategy on corruption. Background documents were
  constituted by legislation in the field of
  corruption.
• Target group Police material on corruption
  elaborated by the Ministry of Administration and
  Interior was included in analysis by taking into
  consideration references to Police and their
  personnel anticorruption strategy, reports, code
  of conduct, etc.
• Target group Media articles in newspapers and
  weekly magazines.
• Target group Civil Society manifesto, press
  releases, transcripts of interviews, appeals
  issued by the Coalition for a Clean Parliament
  and its continuation, Coalition for a Clean
  Governance during 2004, when the first coalition
  was set up, to the present.
• Target group Economy transcripts of seminars on
  the topic of corruption, press releases, content
  of web sites expressing the position towards
  corruption, protocols with other institutions
  stating common approach to corruption and setting
  up joint activities, minutes of meetings,
  anticorruption plans, codes of conduct.

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Qualitative content analysis

• Empirical, methodological controlled analysis of
  texts within their context of communication,
  following content analytical rules and step by
  step models, without rash quantification
  (Mayring, 2000).
• The procedure of open coding was employed.
• The categories were developed inductively.
• The chosen unit of analysis was the theme.
• Data analysis for each case involved generating
  concepts through the process of coding which
  represents the operations by which data were
  broken down, conceptualised, and put back
  together in new ways (Strauss and Corbin, 1990).
• Material was analysed by using computerised
  analysis software, Atlas-ti.

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Quality of material and difficulties

• The heterogeneity of material analysed.
• The rapid change of situation in regard to
  anticorruption efforts in Romania.
• Official documents analysed (like those of
  Ministry of Interior, or by business groups) were
  issued in the general framework of Romanias
  aligning its policies to international efforts
  especially in regard to European integration.
• As a result, it is difficult to assess what would
  represent national cultural specificity. Perhaps
  international comparative perspective can shed
  light on cultural aspects.

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Generating theory
Content Definitions Characteristics/mechanism
s
Causes
Effects
CORRUPTION
Fight against corruption
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Content of the core category definitions
2. METAPHORS The octopus The dirty
affair The sickness Thick fabric no one can
tear The national sport

1. CONVENTIONAL/LEGAL Illegal conduct Altered
behaviour
CORRUPTION
3. MORAL GROUNDS/VALUES Breach in basic social
values Double standards Interventions Bargaining

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Content of the core category characteristics/mech
anisms
SPREAD The all-encompassing corruption
CORRUPTION
LOGIC Complex mechanism The subjective agreement
The local barons The snowball effect Trivial
subject
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Content of the core category characteristics/mech
anisms

• Perceptions on corruption turn into a mechanism
  that maintains the phenomenon.
• The bribe was offered by the foreign company
  interested in privatisation of JIMTIM because
  they perceived this request as a normal instance
  in Romania
• The Italians told me they knew they had to pay
  spaga in order to buy such companies. Italians
  had the representation that in Romania is
  customary to give spaga in such situations and
  I think they knew about these procedures from one
  of their friends () from whom they found out
  about the principle of spaga in Romania
  (Prosecutors investigation file, witness
  declaration, p4).

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Causes of corruption
SYSTEMIC
INDIVIDUAL
ECONOMY
REGULATIONS/LEGISLATION/JUDICIAL
GOVERNANCE
SOCIAL
CULTURAL/HISTORICAL
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Systemic causes

• ECONOMY
• Inadequate structure
• Deficient economic policy
• Poor economic environment
• Short term contextual factors

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Systemic causes

• REGULATIONS/ LEGISLATION/JUDICIAL
• Incomplete reform
• Imperfect fiscal system
• Need for regulation
• Low capacity of judicial system

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Systemic causes

• GOVERNANCE
• Strenuous reform
• Formal social dialogue
• Electoral system
• Deficient structure and functioning
• Low quality of human resources

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Systemic causes

• SOCIAL
• Stage of social development
• Groups of interests
• Flawed functioning of institutions
• Limited press freedom
• Disturbed basic relationships
• Networks
• Socialisation
• Negative social capital

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Case study 1 Overlapping political and economic
positions
JUDICIARY
POLITICS
Ministry of Justice
Bucharest Court
closed personal relations
councilor in GS of RG
FP
good relations
sponsor of the party in power
friend of major stockholder of SCRVA
major stockholder in two firms of juridical
liquidation
business relations with NB
BUSINESS
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Systemic causes

• CULTURAL/HISTORICAL
• Cultural and historical heritage of Ottoman
  Empire
• Our soul was perverted since Fanar on

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Individual causes

• Human nature
• Impaired relationship of citizens to society
• Rent seeking behaviour
• Mentality

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Fight against corruption

• Assessments of current fight
• The supreme necessity
• Façade fight
• Institutional zigzag

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What is the relationship of theory to reality
and truth?

• The substantive-level theory of corruption is an
  interpretation made from given perspectives
  researched by researchers
• Its nature allows for endless elaboration and
  partial negation.
• The theory is limited in time. Change at any
  level of the conditional matrix will affect the
  validity of theory and its relation to
  contemporary reality.
• Conceptualising is an intellectual process that
  extends throughout the entire course of a given
  research project (Strauss and Corbin, 1990)