https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1636-0548
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ABSTRACT
Whether democratic governance breeds corruption, especially in developing countries that practice democracy, is highly debatable. Using primary data from interviews and relevant secondary data from media reports and scholarly work, this article aims to address a fundamental question: Does democracy fuel corruption in Ghana’s Fourth Republic? Although 20% of participants believed that democracy breeds corruption, about 80% disagreed. The study indicates that democracy does not necessarily bring about corruption; rather, what fuels corruption is how democracy is practiced. Based on the stage/age of democracy thesis, this study does not suggest less corruption in a dictatorship compared to democracy. Instead, the study indicates that despite its democracy being over 29 years old, corruption is still prevalent because Ghana has a flawed democracy that has failed to establish and implement robust accountability mechanisms to control corruption effectively. The theoretical and policy implication is to avoid a lengthy period of the flawed/electoral democracy phase and move to the mature democracy phase by, for example, ensuring a sustained political commitment to combatting corruption and strengthening the rule of law and accountability institutions such as the judiciary. This study extends the theoretical and empirical understanding of the relationship between democracy and corruption.
Acknowledgement
I thank the editors, Dr. Kristen Harkness and Dr. Aurel Croissant, and the anonymous referees for their time and thoughtful comments, helping to improve the manuscript’s quality. I am also grateful to all my interviewees for their time and insights.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Mafukata, “Evolution of Corruption”; Otusanya, “Corruption Undermines Development”; Robert, Corruption and Global Security; UNODC, “Effects of Corruption.”
2 United Nations, “Corruption Impedes Development,” para. 1.
3 Ibid, para. 1.
4 African Union, “Convention for Combating Corruption”; Gray, “Insider Accounts of Corruption”; Newhouse, “Institutional Corruption.”
5 Brooks, “Political Corruption,” 58.
6 Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; Ninsin, Issues in Ghana; 2016; Nsia-Pepra, “Flawed Democray”; Transparency International, “Corruption Perception Index.”
7 GhanaWeb, “Ghana’s $4 Billion Loss”; Graphic Online, “Amount Lost to Corruption”; Yeboah, “Ghana’s Fight for Transparency.”
8 Business and Financial Times, “The ‘coup’ agenda.”
9 Bashiru, “Corruption in Africa”; Boehm, “Democracy and Corruption”; Jetter et al., “Democracy’s Effect on Corruption”; Rock, “Corruption and Democracy.”
10 Campbell and Saha, “Asia: Corruption and Democracy”; Kolstad and Wiig, “Does Democracy Reduce Corruption?”
11 Jetter et al., “Democracy’s Effect on Corruption”; You, Democracy, Inequality and Corruption.
12 Abdulai, “Political Will”; Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; Bashiru, Bashiru, “Corruption in Africa”; Ganie-Rochman and Achwan, “Corruption in Indonesia”; Gray, “Grand Corruption in Tanzania”; Mafukata, “Evolution of Corruption.”
13 Agozino, Counter-Colonial Criminology; Agozino, “Imperialism, Crime and Criminology”; Bashiru, 2014, “Corruption in Africa”; Ezeanya, “Colonialism and Corruption.”
14 Abdulai, “Political Will”; Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; Bashiru, “Corruption in Africa”; Mafukata, “Evolution of Corruption”; Venter, “Democracy, Governance and Leadership.”
15 Mafukata, “Evolution of Corruption.”
16 Brako and Asah-Asante, Introduction to Political Science; Schmitter, and Karl, “What Democracy Is.”
17 Brako and Asah-Asante, Introduction to Political Science, 136.
18 Boehm, “Democracy and Corruption”; Jetter et al., “Democracy’s Effect on Corruption.”
19 GhanaWeb, “Ghana’s $4 Billion Loss”; Graphic Online, “Amount Lost to Corruption”; Yeboah, “Ghana’s Fight for Transparency.”
20 News Ghana, “Ghana’s Political History.”
21 Ghana Statistical Service, “Ghana’s Population.”
22 Ghana Statistical Service, “Ghana Factsheet: Economy.”
23 News Ghana, “Ghana’s Political History.”
24 Ibid
25 Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index”; UNODC, “Corruption in Ghana.”
26 Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index.”
27 Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; UNODC, “Corruption in Ghana.”
28 UNODC, “Corruption in Ghana,” 17.
29 Asiamah, “Go for GYEEDA Cash.”
30 Arkoh, 2021, “Corruption Swallows 20% of Budget.”
31 Freedom House, “Ghana’s Political Rights and Civil Liberties.”
32 Ibid.
33 Ibid
34 V_Dem Institute, “Ghana – Horizontal/Vertical Accountability.”
35 Freedom House, “Ghana’s Political Rights and Civil Liberties.”
36 V-Dem Institute, “Ghana – Horizontal/Vertical Accountability.”
37 Campbell and Saha, “Asia: Corruption and Democracy,” 291.
38 Ibid, 291.
39 Petersen, “Early Democratization and Corruption.”
40 Boehm, “Democracy and Corruption”; Campbell and Saha, “Asia: Corruption and Democracy”; Rock, “Corruption and Democracy.”
41 Campbell and Saha, “Asia: Corruption and Democracy,” 294.
42 Boehm, “Democracy and Corruption,” 84.
43 Ganie-Rochman and Achwan, “Corruption in Indonesia”; Kolstad and Wiig, “Does Democracy Reduce Corruption?”
44 Rochman and Achwan, “Corruption in Indonesia.”
45 Kolstad and Wiig, “Does Democracy Reduce Corruption?”
46 Jetter et al., “Democracy’s Effect on Corruption”; You, Democracy, Inequality and Corruption.
47 Jetter et al., “Democracy’s Effect on Corruption.”
48 Ibid.
49 You, Democracy, Inequality and Corruption.
50 Ibid.
51 Ibid.
52 Jetter et al., “Democracy’s Effect on Corruption”; You, Democracy, Inequality and Corruption.
53 Bashiru, “Corruption in Africa.”
54 Ibid, 78.
55 Ibid.
56 Abdulai, “Political Will”; Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; Mafukata, “Evolution of Corruption”; Venter, “Democracy, Governance and Leadership.”
57 Croissant, “Defective Democracy”; Fritz, “Deviant Democracy”; Gray, “Grand Corruption in Tanzania”; Hope, “Corruption in Kenya”; Kolstad and Wiig, “Does Democracy Reduce Corruption?”; Persson et al., “Why Anticorruption Reforms Fail”; Rose-Ackerman, Corruption and Government; Signé and Korha 2016, “Challenges for Democratic Consolidation”; Tudoroiu, “Democracy and State Capture”; Venter, “Democracy, Governance and Leadership.”
58 Signé and Korha 2016, “Challenges for Democratic Consolidation.”
59 Braun and Clarke, “Reflexive Thematic Analysis”; Creswell, Qualitative inquiry.
60 Moen, “Narrative Research Approach,” 57.
61 Ibid, 56.
62 Asomah, “Persistent Corruption.”
63 Asomah, “How Media fights Corruption.”
64 Asomah, “Democracy, Media and Corruption.”
65 Creswell, Qualitative inquiry; Onwuegbuzie and Leech, “Qualitative Research Sampling Designs.”
66 Bryman, Social Research Methods; Onwuegbuzie and Leech, “Qualitative Research Sampling.”
67 Onwuegbuzie and Leech, “Qualitative Research Sampling.”
68 Patton, “Developments in Qualitative Inquiry,” 341.
69 Braun and Clarke, “Reflexive Thematic Analysis,” 591.
70 Bediako, “News websites in Ghana.”
71 Creswell, Qualitative inquiry; Onwuegbuzie and Leech, “Qualitative Research Sampling Designs.”
72 Braun and Clarke, “Reflexive Thematic Analysis”; Braun and Clarke, “Thematic analysis.”
73 Braun and Clarke, “Reflexive Thematic Analysis,” 593.
74 Ibid, 591.
75 Braun and Clarke, Successful Qualitative Research.
76 Ibid, 207.
77 Braun and Clarke, “Reflexive Thematic Analysis,” 493.
78 Boehm, “Democracy and Corruption,” 84; Campbell and Saha, “Asia: Corruption and Democracy.”
79 Citi News, “Monetisation of Politics”; Lartey, “Corrupting Ghana’s Democracy”; 2019; Ghanaian Times, “Party Processes Breed Corruption”; Ghanaian Times, “Political Party Financing”; Peace FM Online, “President’s Powers.”
80 Citi News, “Monetisation of Politics”; Starr FM Online, “Ghana Needs New Constitution”; Ghanaian Times, “Political Party Financing.”
81 Ghanaian Times, “Political Party Financing,” para. 2.
82 Interview, V24, Politician, Accra, December 7, 2017.
83 Croissant, “Defective Democracy”; Fritz, “Deviant Democracy”; Kolstad and Wiig, “Does Democracy Reduce Corruption?”
84 Interview, V24, Politician, Accra, December 7, 2017.
85 Ibid.
86 Amankwah et al., “Judicial Corruption in Ghana”; BBC News, “High Court Judges.”
87 Frimpong and Agyman-Badu, “Democracy in Ghana,” 65.
88 Boehm, “Democracy and Corruption”; Campbell and Saha, “Asia: Corruption and Democracy.”
89 Campbell and Saha, “Asia: Corruption and Democracy,” 291.
90 Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption.”
91 Bashiru, “Corruptioin in Africa”; Mafukata, “Evolution of Corruption”; Venter, “Democracy, Governance and Leadership.”
92 Interview, V13, Media Practitioner, Accra, November 10, 2017.
93 Interview, V23, Political Scientist and Anti-Corruption Activist, Accra, December 5, 2017.
94 Interview, V6, Communications and Journalism Academic, University of Ghana, Accra, October 11, 2017.
95 Ansu-Kyeremeh, “Dictatorship Corrupts, Not Democracy.”
96 Asomah, “How Media fights Corruption.”
97 Starr FM Online, “Cash for Justice.”
98 Modern Ghana, “Contract for Sale.”
99 Awuni, “SADA Story.”
100 Croissant, “Defective Democracy”; Fritz, “Deviant Democracy.”
101 United Nations, “The Rule of Law,” 4.
102 Interview, V12, Student and Journalist, Ghana Institute of Journalism, Accra, November 2, 2017.
103 Boehm, “Democracy and Corruption,” 84.
104 Abdulai, “Political Will”; Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; Bashiru, “Corruption in Africa”; Signé and Korha, “Challenges for Democratic Consolidation.”
105 Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; GhanaWeb, “Corruption: NPP and NDC.”
106 Interview, V15, Political Science Professor, University of Ghana, Accra, November 6, 2017.
107 Interview, V23, Political Scientist and Anti-Corruption Activist, Accra, December 5, 2017.
108 Interview, V19, Academic and Former Editor, Ghana Institute of Journalism, Accra, November 30, 2017.
109 Starr FM Online, “Ghana Needs New Constitution.”
110 Interview, V15, Political Science Professor, University of Ghana, Accra, November 6, 2017.
111 Croissant, “Defective Democracy”; Fritz, “Deviant Democracy”; Kolstad and Wiig, “Does Democracy Reduce Corruption?”
112 Joy Online, “Executocracy in Ghana,” para. 2.
113 Peace FM Online, “President’s Powers,” para. 5.
114 Signé and Korha, “Challenges for Democratic Consolidation.”
115 Dzizoamenu, “Ghana’s Democracy Facilitates Corruption”; Frimpong and Agyman-Badu, “Democracy in Ghana”; Gyampo & Graham, “Constitutional Hybridity”; Peace FM Online, “President’s Powers,”
116 Nyabor, “Flawed Democracy,” para. 7.
117 Abdulai, “Political Will”; Asomah, “Persistent Political Corruption”; Bashiru, “Corruption in Africa”; Croissant, “Defective Democracy”; Fritz, “Deviant Democracy”; Kolstad and Wiig, “Does Democracy Reduce Corruption?”; Mafukata, “Evolution of Corruption”; Rose-Ackerman, “Corruption and Government”; Signé and Korha 2016, “Challenges for Democratic Consolidation”; Tudoroiu, “Democracy and State Capture”; Venter, “Democracy, Governance, and Leadership.”
118 Signé and Korha, “Challenges for Democratic Consolidation.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Joseph Yaw Asomah
Dr. Joseph Yaw Asomah is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. He has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. His research interests generally focus on international development, human rights, policing, and white-collar crime, especially corruption. Dr. Asomah has published in internationally respected peer-reviewed journals, including Third World Quarterly, Forum for Development Studies, Critical Studies in Media Communication, International Journal of Sociology, Journal of Asian and African Studies, and Crime, Law and Social Change. He can be contacted at [email protected].