Political Corruption, Trust, and Citizen Evaluations of Democracy: A Cross-National Analysis

Eunjung Choi

Extensive literature on political corruption has addressed how pervasive corruption poses challenges to economic development, distributive justice, and political trust. While there is little doubt about the damaging effects of corruption on economic and political spheres, not much attention is given to the broader consequences of corruption and declining political trust on different facets of democratic governance. This study explores the reciprocal relationships between political corruption and various aspects of the health of democracy, as indicated by political trust and the performance of government as well as by citizens’ beliefs in democratic values, norms, and practices. This study finds that political corruption and political trust influence each other and that they, in turn, affect citizens’ opinion of democracy. The study also implies that political corruption brings detrimental effects to the deepening and consolidation of democracy in developing nations.