Jessica Wolfe Professor Wolcott English CompII Annotated Bibliographies 23 October 2013 Scandals and Corruption: Its All

l a Part of Government This annotated bibliography is designed to give those both interested and participating in the Political Discourse community an overview of corruption in scandal in governments. In researching corruption and scandals in government, the results are numerous. Many of these articles center on the fact that both scandal and corruption are inevitable when it comes to any type of government, big or small. No matter who or how many people hold the government accountable or how many restrictions are made, these two aspects of the judicial system will always be a present evil. In researching these articles about corruption and sandal in government, I found that new ways to measure and prevent political corruption are always trying to be developed. Political Scientists, such as the ones whose articles I have used in this bibliography, have spent their whole careers studying patterns of corruption in different governments if only to find one consistency in all chaos that could open a door for further development. I plan to piece together these bibliographies to help gain a better understanding of corruption as well as preventative measures against corruption and scandal in government. This bibliography is meant to cover scandal and corruption not only in U.S government but also countries governments. I have used a combination of periodicals and articles included in scholarly journals, three periodicals and twelve articles. These articles are relatively recent with none dating back before 2005. The authors of each article have their own ideologies and

political attitudes resulting in a whole range of opinions on this subject and giving each article a unique perspective on corruption and scandal in political science. Key Terms: Empirical based on what has been observed or experienced and not theory or pure logic. Political Corruption the use of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain Scandal an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage.

Harring, Niklas. "Understanding The Effects Of Corruption And Political Trust On Willingness To Make Economic Sacrifices For Environmental Protection In A Cross-National Perspective Understanding The Effects Of Corruption And Political Trust On Willingness To Make.." Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 94.3 (2013): 660-671. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Niklas Harring, PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, uses this article in attempt to explain the effects that political corruption has on the environment from a cross-national perspective. With political corruption being the independent variable and environmental preservation being the dependent variable, Harring hypothesizes that in a comparison of countries those with more political corruption are less likely to favor environmental protection than those with less political corruption. Harring then brings in the people living in these countries as another dependent variable asking if the level of governmental corruption would impact a persons willingness to make economic sacrifices for environmental protection. (Harring, 5)

Professor Harring uses the International Social Survey Programme study to obtain an index for all forthcoming cases and then using the Corruption Perception Index created by Transparency International in order to measure a countries level of corruption on a fixed scale. Although this study was presented as a peer-reviewed article in 2013, Harring uses the Corruption Perception Index score from 2001 with number 1 being Russia having the highest level of corruption and Finland having the lowest level of corruption at 0. Harrings study ends inconclusively stating that, The results from this study cannot reject the hypothesis that political trust is part of the explanation of cross-country differences in peoples willingness to make economic sacrifices for environmental protection. (Harring, 10) Harrings article was included in this annotated bibliography because it attempts to explain the effects that our government and its level of corruption has on our surrounding world.

Roberts, Robert. "The Supreme Court And Federal Prosecution Of State And Local Government Corruption." Public Integrity 14.4 (2012): 399-412. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. Robert Roberts, retired president and CEO of Syracuse University, discusses Congresss ability to criminalize corrupt actions and the amount of corruption cases that congress is presented with. The majority of cases brought to congress concerning political corruption are dealing with the acceptance of bribes and illegal gratuities by both state and local government employees. Between 1970 and 2008, 3,615 cases in which the state

official or state employee was convicted occurred all on the charges of federal public corruption.

Two tables are included in the article which chart out the federal corruption convictions of state officials and the federal corruption convictions of local officials. These tables show an almost 216 convictions of local officials on corruption charges per year since 1980. The turning point in the federalization of state and local corruption prosecutions occurred during the early 1970s, when a small number of U.S. attorneys took the risky step of launching investigations and prosecutions of high-profile state and local employees. (Ruff 1977, 1171) Roberts concludes with the idea that the corrupt is governing the corrupt. Congress has proven reluctant to pass dedicated intergovernmental public corruption statutes. (Roberts, 11) Roberts article shines a light on the corruptness of our government and the lack of effort Congress puts into stopping this corruption by not providing enforcement (FBI) with the authority they need to pursue those corrupt and in power, which is why I have chosen it as a part in the annotated bibliography.

Lessoff, Alan, and James J. Connolly. "From Political Insult To Political Theory: The Boss, The Machine, And The Pluralist City." Journal Of Policy History 25.2 (2013): 139-172. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

In this article two professors, Alan Lessoff and James J. Connolly team up to change the so negatively looked at political terms boss and machine into words that are used to

describe things with a more positive connotation. Alan Lessoff is a PhD candidate at Illinois State University in the history department. His partner, James J. Connolly is also a professor of history but at Ball State University. He is the author of two books published by Cornell University Press on political culture and machine politics and continues to write articles as well as essays used in journals.

The words boss and machine both were originally associated with corruption and demoralization in politics. The term boss was first established because of the Tweed Ring scandal occurring in 1871. A democrat from New York named William Tweed captured more than six million dollars from Manhattans government. After this scandal was brought to light, boss and machine became paired with each other. The tweed scandal introduced introduced boss to the national political lexicon, eventually pairing it with machine. (Lessoff and Connolly, 3)

Lessoff and Connolly use this new way of looking at the terms boss and machine as a way to gain a better understanding of what political corruption and the full extent of insider influence. Therefore, the reason I have chosen this as an article in this annotated bibliography is because these two authors are attempting to change the way people, especially in the area of political science, look at corruption in politics.

Charron, Nicholas. "Party Systems, Electoral Systems And Constraints On Corruption." Electoral Studies 30.4 (2011): 595-606. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

Nicholas Charron is an Associate Professor in Business and Politics at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark and is also a research fellow at the Quality of Government

Institute in Sweden. This author explores the different aspects of government that political corruption has on a government such as its party systems. He includes all different types of political systems such as SMD and PR in his evaluation of corruption. His main argument is that corruption depends on the amount of parties. He concludes that PR systems are more likely corrupt than SMD systems. because of the more competitive winner-take-all aspects of the SMD system which simultaneously constrain incumbents while also giving voters a clear alternative when malfeasance by sitting politicians is exposed because of the expected two-party system produced in SMD countries. (Duverger, 1972) In other words, government officials in a SMD system are more exposed and therefore held more accountable than those in a PR party system.

This article addresses the direct correlation between governmental systems and how they each lead to different levels of political corruption. Dr. Charrons study is well researched and descriptive using percentages, charts, and graphs to prove his point. I have included this article in my annotated bibliography because of its relevance to the political science discourse community.

Mungiu-Pippidi, Alina. "Controlling Corruption Through Collective Action." Journal Of Democracy 24.1 (2013): 101-115. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi Romanian political scientist and has been a featured speaker at Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Oxford, and Stockholm School of Economics uses this peer-reviewed article to argue the ability to control corruption in government. The problem with this theory, Dr. Mungiu-Pippidi writes, is that even collective action groups

are susceptible to corruption. The solution to this problem may just in fact have been in front of us this whole time the internet. Strange as it may sound, opening an Internet cafe in every village may be a more effective approach to anticorruption than the establishment of an anticorruption agency. (Mungiu-Pippidi, 114) This source is in the annotated bibliography because of its relevance to todays views on political corruption. Because of the popularity of the internet, it is easy for a story to become viral overnight, especially stories of political corruption. However, collective action, even though the internet, is not something that is easily achieved. It takes a group of assembled people with common views working towards common goals, and this article evaluates the validity of this goal dealing with governmental corruption.

Brown, David S., Michael Touchton, and Andrew Whitford. "Political Polarization As A Constraint On Corruption: A Cross-National Comparison." World Development 39.9 (2011): 1516-1529. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.

These three accredited university Political Science professors use this article in attempt to explain political corruption in new and fresh way. Looking at the government through ideological polarization and empirical data, in their opinions, can open up a whole new way of determining the who what when where how and whys of political corruption. Polarization, in the realm of politics, is the separation of political attitudes and ideological extremes. Separating political attitudes and ideological extremes allows for political corruption to be looked at objectively. A major problem when looking at political corruption is that one puts themselves in the place of the corrupt saying, I would have done or If it were me However, when one takes out their stance on

politics (attitudes and ideologies) it allows a nonbiased argument to be made. This is what polarization achieves; rather than having a system with separated, but affiliated political viewpoints, our findings suggest that polarization is a statement about the power of dispute. (Brown, Touchton, Whitford, 1525)

This is also how the article is divided up. The argument has been specifically tailored to answer each of these questions defining political corruption with facts, examples, and diagrams. I have chosen this article to be included in my annotated bibliography because these three authors are attempting a new viewing of corruption. The argument of having a foundational knowledge of political polarization in order to obtain a fundamental understanding of governmental corruption is one that provides an alternative view of my research.

McGrath, Michael. "Lessons Of Bell, California." National Civic Review 102.1 (2013): 5154. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Michael McGrath is the chief information officer at the 99-year-old award-winning National Civic Review and senior editor of the National Civic League. In this article, Michael McGrath uses Bell as an example of corruption to study and to learn from. McGrath takes a look at judicial corruption on different scales: a more concentrated scale, Bell; a broad scale, corruption in the 1980s; and a holistic scale, all of U.S. history.

Bell, California is, at this time, one of the most popular cases of political corruption in the United States. City Manager Rizzo of Bell, California awarded himself bonuses leading to a pension of $650,000 while people of Bell suffered with property taxes of 1.55%,

more than Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach. As further investigation went into this case of corruption it was found out that the city officials of Bell had salaries that were reported as the highest in the nation. The very name Bell has become almost a synonym for official corruption. (McGrath, 51)

This article is beneficial to research on corruption in politics because it takes a close look at corruption on a small scale and provides solutions and ways to learn from those mistakes. Some simple lessons that I think can be drawn from these and other examples of corruption are that when the public is disengaged, when government decisions are made without public participation and support, bad things can happen, and often do. (McGrath, 53)

Boyer, Peter J. "The Wonk Who Slays Washington." Newsweek 158.21 (2011): 32-37. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. The Wonk Who Slays Washington by Peter J. Boyer is a periodical that explores corruption in Congress based on the findings of Peter Schweizer Political Science research fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution. Peter J. Boyer is a former editor of the New York Times, the Los Angeles Time, and now writes for The New Yorker. Boyer and Schweizers research is centered on insider trading within Congress. The study was born out of an utterly shocking discovery by Schweizer. Members of Congress are free to buy and sell stocks in companies whose fate can be profoundly influenced, or even determined, by Washington policy (Boyer)

Then, after further study it is found out that members of Congress do indeed act on this ability and are invested in many companies that are in fact influenced by them. Although this act of insider trading is not illegal it is indeed both a shady and seemingly unethical practice. Pelosi reportedly invested in Visa when credit card-related legislation was in front of the House, and Boehner reportedly invested in health care stocks before the public option was removed from the health care bill. (Politico.com)

I have chosen this article to further my research in judicial corruption because it shows the emergence of congressional corruption. Although this act of insider training by Congress is not exactly illegal it does show that there are certain aspects of the law which Congress can influence for their own personal benefit.

Klein, Joe. "Sorting Out The Scandals." Time 181.20 (2013): 23-24. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Joe Klein works for TIME magazine as a political columnist, has written six books, and won the National Headliner Award for best magazine column. In Sorting Out The Scandals Klein explores the covering up of scandals in the White House, specifically those that have occurred in President Obamas term. In this periodical, Klein looks into where the blame for scandals and corruption falls. Regardless of the political party of the scandal or corruption the majority of blame falls on the President. In scandals concerning 2013, the blame seems to be falling on President Obama.

Klein argues that when it comes to scandals it is nothing more than a he said, she said, game. In his article he says, We may have reached a point where the federal government

is so sclerotic and archaic that it needs a total overhaul. This article has been useful in my research of governmental corruption because it discusses the full extent of effective governance defined by their ability to control of the media when dealing with scandals and corruption.

Ledet, Richard. "Correlates Of Corruption." Public Integrity 13.2 (2011): 149-162. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Richard Ledet is a doctor with a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Notre Dame and has co-authored a research article titled Religion and Government Corruption in the American States. In Correlates Of Corruption In his article Dr. Ledet discusses measurements of corruption and their relationship to government quality. He argues that although the many cases of corruption are observed in literature and theory, there is not enough empirical evidence supporting all these cases thus concluding the need for more specific measures of corruption. One of the major findings of this study is that the issue of public corruption is in need of more scholarly attention. (Ledet, 159) However, there are obstacles when it comes to developing these much-needed new measures of corruption. The two extremes of corruption being that it is everywhere and that is it so well covered up concluded that those in charge of prosecuting either have their hands too full or are unaware of what is going on.

This academic journal greatly benefits my annotated bibliography because it discusses the flaws that the government experiences when it comes to measuring and prosecuting

corruption. It also sets a goal of new corruption measurements being devised to minimize the occurrence of corruption.

Basinger, Scott J., and Brandon Rottinghaus. "Skeletons In White House Closets: A Discussion Of Modern Presidential Scandals." Political Science Quarterly 127.2 (2012): 213239. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

These two Ph.D. holding Political Science professors at the University of Houston use their academic journal article to discuss just how much a scandal can impact the publics view of the President. This study contains a collection of scandals and corrupt occurrences in the White House from Jefferson-Hamilton sex scandals of 1972 to the Eliot Spitzer prostitute scandal of 2008. Depending on how much light was shed on each indiscretion by political media and the amount of time the scandal spent in that light all determined the amount of trust the public put in the government.

Studies by Basinger and Rottinghaus show that in the short run, events of scandal and corruption do impact the publics level of trust put in their leader. However, in the long run scandals and corruption impact the publics trust in government as a system. This article is important to the research of my annotated bibliography because it uses empirical evidence to discuss the impact that scandals, as viewed by the public, have on governmental operations.

Yap, O. Fiona. "When Do Citizens Demand Punishment Of Corruption?." Australian Journal Of Political Science 48.1 (2013): 57-70. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Fiona yap is a Ph.D. associate professor at the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific and has received many awards including the Australian Research Council Visiting Scholar award. The purpose of her peer reviwed article is to answer the question, Under what conditions do citizens demand punishment of corrupt government officials or actions?(Yap, 57) in both Australian and U.S. governments.

After many surveys and research into the reprimanding of scandal and corruption, this study concludes that when it comes to exactly what type of punishment the people want for the bad behavior of their representatives, their demands are severely lacking. Importantly, the results show that the most important predictor of participants choice to demand punishment is expectation of other participants making that demand. (Yap, 68) I have decided to include this article in my annotated bibliography because it formulates how citizens wish political corruption to be handled, and how others influence their views on this.

Puglisi, Riccardo, and James M. Snyder. "Newspaper Coverage Of Political Scandals." Journal Of Politics 73.3 (2011): 931-950.Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

These two Political Science professors from Pavia and Harvard University take a look at newspaper coverage of political scandals from the past decade and run studies to evaluate the biased tendencies. It would seem that some newspapers, news channels, and radio stations are more biased than others and would report only on that which hurts their opposing party, but is this really true? According to these two professors and scientists, it is. The main finding is that there is a strong correlation between the partisan leaning of

newspapers as measured by their endorsement behavior and the partisan bias in their coverage of political scandals. (Puglisi, Snyder, 947)

Although their approach is purely cross-sectional, comparing and contrasting sponsorships, party affiliations, etc., basic trends between party related corruption and sponsored media can be found. This article is important to my annotated bibliography on corruption and scandal in government because it questions the validity and reliability of reported news according to which partisan affiliated source is covering that scandal.

Flavin, Patrick, and Richard Ledet. "Religion And Government Corruption In The American States." Public Integrity 15.4 (2013): 329-344. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

These two Ph.D. accredited scientists from Baylor and Troy University examine the relationship between corruption and religious population of a state. They hypothesize that a state containing a higher population of people practicing religion will have a government with a lower level of corruption as opposed to those states with citizens who do not practice religion. Although this hypothesize would seem be true, it turns out that there is no difference in state corruption according to their citizens practice of religion.

Scatterplots have been provided in this article which shows the relationships between different states religious practices and corruption in those states. The results of the scatterplots show no correlation or even tend to show a hint of positivity which would mean that states with more religious practice have more instances of corruption. The authors of this journal article then pose the question, Why is there no apparent

relationship between religion and government corruption in the United States? (Flaven, Ledet, 338) This article has been included in my bibliography because of it examines the impact of societys behaviors on their governments behavior and also opens the dialogue of religions impact on government.

Friel, Brian. "ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION. (Cover Story)."National Journal 37.44 (2005): 3350-3351. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Brian Friel was named Senate leadership reporter at Congressional Quarterly and is also a reporter for the National Journal. In this periodical Friel addresses the rising number of corruption cases in Washington calling it a culture of corruption. If governmental corruption is becoming more of a frequently occurring instance, there must be a reason. Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, states, "I do think corruption is on the rise, because it has become increasingly clear that members can get away with more and more.

The definition of corruption has been an ever changing one and can be manipulated to mean different things according to its user. Where it once just meant bribery, corruption has now become the use of governmental power to further ones own agenda. I have included this periodical in my annotated bibliography because it collected many scientists, philosophers, and even government officials views of corruption and applies them to current corruption cases.