Sociology of Corruption: Patterns of Illegal Association in Hungary

In Sociology of Corruption, David Jancsic provides a fresh approach to the study of corruption in Hungary, which once seemed to be the most likely of the ex-communist bloc nations to catch up to the West, and according to many experts and scholars, is a country with a highly corrupt dynamic.

Based on data from 2022, the country, is now the most corrupt member state of the European Union. There is also a consensus among experts that a small clique of corrupt political actors has captured most Hungarian state institutions and a significant portion of the business sector.

What fostered corruption in Hungary? What are the most typical forms of corruption in the country? What do Hungarians think about it? What is the role of PM Viktor Orbn's "illiberal government" in the spread of corrupt practices at every level of society? Using rich ethnographic data David Jancsics answers these questions and proposes policy prescriptions that can alleviate the more pernicious effects of personal and institutional corruption. Sociology of Corruption proposes a novel sociological theory of corruption focusing on social status and relationships, network structures and organizational power dynamics as important explanatory factors of corrupt behavior. Although it is based on the case of Hungary, the findings are applicable to other nations and/or cultural contexts.