PhD defense: Preventing corruption of civil servants in France, Romania and the Netherlands

Johan Bouman will defend his dissertation at Utrecht University on 19 February 2021. It is entitled: Preventing corruption of civil servants in France, Romania and the Netherlands. A comparative study of law and policy.

Abstract

This study compares current anti-corruption laws and policies in France, The Netherlands, and Romania, to see how each of them prevent corruption of civil servants. These three EU Member States have comparable laws but different public sector cultures. Their approaches to combating corruption are also different.

The study shows that the country scoring highest on integrity in international comparisons, The Netherlands, is the country with the least developed central policy and institutions against corruption. This does not indicate a positive correlation between more laws and institutions and higher corruption, but it does show that laws and institutions are probably not a decisive factor in corruption prevention – in any case not the only one. This serves as a warning for lawmakers who are promoting such measures.

Romania is by all standards the most corrupt of the three countries, but it has developed extensive instruments to measure and control integrity incidents across the public sector. Although the Romanian approach could be improved upon, it is equally true that measuring more also reveals more. It also depends on what is measured. For example: there are numerous convictions regarding conflicts of interest in Romania, while in The Netherlands that crime does not even exist.

France’s recent past has known high-profile corruption scandals and it appears that the administration is determined to get a better grip on integrity and corruption prevention, although the focus is not (yet) on ‘ordinary’ civil servants. New institutions and policies have been launched, but their effects remain to be seen.