TYPOLOGY OF CORRUPT ACTIONS AND RELATIONS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

The article examines the types of corrupt actions and relations in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In this region, corruption takes various forms–from petty bribery and embezzlement to large-scale state capture and nepotistic appointments. This article identifies and analyzes three key forms of corruption characteristic of post-communist countries in the region: administrative (low-level) corruption (petty bribery in everyday interactions with the bureaucracy); elite self-enrichment (misappropriation or redistribution of public resources through patronage and nepotism); and network or systemic corruption (oligarchic schemes linking business and political elites to control state institutions). These categories are illustrated through a comparative analysis of corrupt actions and relationships in three CEE countries: Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The findings reveal that in Poland, administrative bribery and patronage practices persist, though they are constrained by relatively stable institutional mechanisms. In Romania, powerful networks of political corruption have developed, and anti-corruption efforts have taken on a populist character, especially following the politicization of bodies such as the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA). In Slovakia, the consequences of opaque privatization in the 1990s led to classical manifestations of state capture, particularly evident in the «Gorila» scandal, which was only partially mitigated by subsequent reforms prior to recent illiberal reversals. Despite these challenges, the experience of each country demonstrates that coordinated anti-corruption measures–combining top-down legal and institutional reforms (such as improvements in public procurement, asset declaration systems, and judicial independence) with bottom-up civic oversight– can gradually weaken clientelist networks and support the restoration of institutional integrity. Thus, the study emphasizes the need for a comprehensive and context-sensitive approach to combating corruption, one that accounts for the full complexity of its manifestations within the proposed typological framework