«GLOBAL CORRUPTION» – IS A PHENOMENON OF THE XXIst CENTURY

Abstract

Corruption is a negative social phenomenon that is an integral part of any community life. Given the low level of welfare of the population and the weaknesses of democratic principles and procedures, corruption becomes, a survival tool for some part of society, for another, smaller one – a tool for making a profit. However, as practice shows, the phenomenon of corruption also occurs highly developed States with established democratic traditions. After all, corruption knows neither nationality, nor borders, nor other barriers to political reality. Like any phenomenon caused by human activity, corruption is not static and evolves in parallel with the human relations complication. Under the pressure of globalization «traditional» corruption is transforming and acquiring new features that allow it to be classified as «global corruption». Paradoxically, but in the modern world global corruption is a stabilizing mechanism of the contemporary model of the world order and a fuse against the destruction of non-viable forms of human coexistence. The article argues that States with unstable institutional environments, in particular Ukraine, becomes the «transit hub» of global corruption through financial-political groups’ mediation. After all, corruption is the cementing foundation of the functioning of modern financial-political groups. It is noted that such corporate groups are characterized by a combination of economic, political and administrative components in order to realize private and sectoral interests. It is emphasized that the financial-political groups’ formation due to the merger of political and business interests is inherent not only in unstable institutional environments, but also in the States with developed economic and political systems. Two algorithms of the development of the interconnection between financial-industrial groups and public authorities in an unstable institutional environment are proposed: 1) complete subordination of political and economic activities of financial-industrial groups to the will of the State – «occupation of business» (for example in the Russian Federation); 2) «seizure of power» by financial-industrial groups and their further transformation into financial-political groups (for example in Ukraine).