Corrupção legal: uma maneira de explicar a percepção dos cidadãos sobre a relevância da corrupção

Mestrado em Ciência PolíticaCorruption, a word with an illicit identity that represents a major public problem for citizens. In fact, this apparent unquestionable common sense statement does permeate recent political discourses or even cutting-edge academic research. But, indeed, what may be wrong with this well-accepted assertion? And why is it characterized as a possible mistaken assumption? Both questions can be summed up in one direct answer: corruption is much more than illegalities, it is also a ‘beyond the law’ concern with social implications. Little attention has been given to evaluate corruption as an exclusive combination of pure licit behaviors. This alternative approach has always assumed a marginal or even complementary status in the comprehension of the phenomenon. This thesis affirms that illegalities offer a relevant, but incomplete contribution. For this reason, they must be set aside in order to unveil how legalities affect citizens’ perceptions about corruption as a whole. Undoubtedly, it is easier to establish objective parameters to limit the measurement of corruption to a mere evaluation of prosecutions, condemnations, or even perceptions about the commitment of illegal actions. However, corrupt behaviors proved to be resilient essentially because of their capacity to resemble both socially and normatively accepted as necessary for the ordinary democratic political operation. A renewed methodological approach is here proposed to demonstrate why legality in corruption matters. Thus, legal corruption must be put in evidence in order to verify how corruption appears as a pervasive, adaptable, dangerous for politics, and widely accepted major problem, especially in the public sector. Such methodology does not aim to incorporate ‘beyond the law’ elements in a broader corruption measurement, as usually attempted. On the contrary, it will isolate what is considered purely lawful, although corrupt, to deeply explore its specific effects on citizens’ perceptions. In essence, this thesis aims to show that legalities are more important to define the relevance of corruption than illicitness. It also wants to identify what should count as sufficient to determine such legal corruption. In this context, socioeconomic factors proved to be fundamental, especially ‘Internet Usage’ and ‘Wastefulness of Government Spending’. Finally, it is possible to conclude that legality in corruption can be unveiled by simply asking citizens if they consider corruption a relevant problem in the public sector of advanced democracies or quasi-democracies, instead of asking directly about specific dimensions of corruption. It is also possible to perceive if corruption is a relevant public problem without directly asking citizens about corruption, but about general socially accepted misconducts with regards to legal corruption, such as the necessity of establishing personal contacts to get things done; the capacity of distorting rules, norms, and statutes in order to make private interests resemble licit and politically acceptable; and the governments’ ability to do what tradespeople want without hindering citizens’ wills.Corrupção, uma palavra com identidade ilícita que representa um grande problema para os cidadãos. De facto, esta afirmação – aparentemente inquestionável e baseada no senso comum – permeia discursos políticos recentes ou até mesmo pesquisas académicas de ponta. Mas, em verdade, o que pode estar errado com esta afirmação tradicionalmente aceite? E por que caracterizá-la como equivocada? Ambas as questões podem ser resumidas em uma única e objetiva resposta: corrupção não se refere tão somente a ilegalidades, mas também a interesses ‘para além da lei’ que possuem implicações sociais. Pouca atenção tem sido dada à avaliação da corrupção sob uma perspetiva meramente lícita. Esta abordagem alternativa sempre foi marginal ou mesmo complementar. Esta tese afirma que a caracterização da corrupção como algo ilegal oferece uma contribuição relevante, mas incompleta para o entendimento do fenómeno. Por esta razão, deve ser posta de lado, a fim de se desvendar como apenas as legalidades afetam as perceções dos cidadãos sobre a corrupção como um todo. Sem dúvida, é mais fácil estabelecer parâmetros objetivos para limitar a medição da corrupção a uma mera avaliação de processos, de execuções penais ou mesmo de perceções sobre o cometimento de atos ilegais. Entretanto, o comportamento corrupto se mostra resiliente essencialmente devido à sua capacidade de parecer socialmente e normativamente aceite como necessário ao normal funcionamento político democrático. Uma renovada abordagem metodológica é aqui proposta para demonstrar a importância do papel da legalidade perante a corrupção. Logo, a corrupção legal deve ser colocada em evidência para que seja possível verificar como a corrupção (em sentido mais amplo) aparece como um invasivo, adaptável, politicamente perigoso e amplamente aceite problema, especialmente no setor público. Tal metodologia não pretende incorporar elementos ‘para além da lei’ em uma mensuração mais alargada da corrupção, como é usualmente feito. Pelo contrário, ela isolará o que é considerado puramente legal, embora corrupto, para explorar mais detalhadamente seus efeitos específicos sobre as perceções dos cidadãos. Em essência, esta tese pretende mostrar que as legalidades são mais importantes para definir a relevância da corrupção do que as ilegalidades. Também busca identificar o que deve contar como suficiente para determinar essa tal corrupção legal. Neste contexto, fatores socioeconómicos provaram ser fundamentais, especialmente aqueles relacionados ao ‘Uso da Internet’ e ao ‘Desperdício dos Gastos do Governo"

Assessing and explaining local e-government maturity in the Iberoamerican community

This paper assesses local e-government maturity in the Iberoamerican community. Sixty Andorran, Argentinian, Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, Costa Rican, Mexican, Portuguese, Spanish, and Uruguayan cities were considered in this study. A demographic criterion was adopted to define the municipalities observed within those countries and a three-dimensional model was used to evaluate each municipal website. Then, we conclude that local e-government still has a substantial room for improvement in the region and that population density is relevant to explain local e-government maturity, albeit only in its intrinsic Information and Participation dimensions.publishe

Legal Corruption and Dissatisfaction with Democracy in the European Union

Two developments have marked EU democracies, with different levels of incidence and intensity, during the past two decades: the decline in support for democracy and the spread of corruption. Most individual-level analyses have identified the incumbent’s economic performance or government effectiveness as sufficient explanations of citizens’ growing dissatisfaction with democracy; whilst corruption has been downplayed as an explanatory variable by these multifactor analyses. We contend that this has partly to do with conceptual and methodological failings in the way perceptions about the phenomenon are measured. Defining corruption as abuse of office is insufficient to understand how perceptions about the decline of ethical standards in public life can be relevant to shape specific support for democracy. In this article, we propose an alternative conceptualization that goes beyond what is proscribed in the penal codes and special criminal laws, which the literature has recently defined as legal/ institutional corruption, and demonstrate how it can offer an interesting explanation of citizens’ perceptions of the way democracy works in a European context (EU-27 member states).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluating local e-government maturity in selected Iberoamerican countries

This paper describes an exploratory study aiming to assess e-government maturity of municipalities in selected Iberoamerican countries: Andorra, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Portugal and Spain. A geographical criterion was adopted to select the countries, and a demographic criterion was adopted to define the municipalities observed within those countries. Moreover, a three-dimensional maturity model was used to categorize and evaluate each municipal website. Then, we conclude that local e-government still has a substantial room for improvement in the community, or at least in the studied countries, and that population density seems to be associated with the preliminary results for local e-government maturity

What We (Don't) Know so Far About Tolerance Towards Corruption in European Democracies: Measurement Approaches, Determinants, and Types

Cross-national survey data shows that for a significant share of European citizens, corruption is acceptable. Notwithstanding the importance of prior knowledge on corruption extension and experience, research has made little progress in exploring why people condone it, especially in unsuspicious countries, with effective institutions and stable democratic rules and processes. The present study examines this gap in the literature by assessing the European Values Study (EVS) and the Special Eurobarometer (EB) attempts at measuring 'Tolerance towards Corruption' (TtC) in OECD countries in Europe during the same period (2017-2019). In the end, measurements proved to be constrained by the limited number of questions/items that try to capture TtC, which gave room to conclude that: (a) EVS and EB approaches do not measure the same TtC. The first measures it through social transgressions not exclusively related to corruption, while the second measures the willingness to accept a public-office corruption when dealing with the public sphere. (b) Lower ages combined with individual preferences/perceptions of less satisfaction with life, widespread corruption, and prior experiences with corruption proved to be more relevant to explain TtC, regardless of the country in which individuals were surveyed. (c) The type of TtC citizens display in advanced democracies proved to be mainly contingent on their age and on the way they interpret the extension of corruption and the prior contact they had with a public-office corruption in a given society.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora