Varieties of Corruption? A Typology of Country-Level Corruption Patterns Using Fuzzy-Set Ideal Type Analysis

Hajnal, Áron and Bartha, Attila and Martin, József Péter (2025) Varieties of Corruption? A Typology of Country-Level Corruption Patterns Using Fuzzy-Set Ideal Type Analysis. POLITICAL STUDIES REVIEW. ISSN 1478-9299

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Abstract

Broadly applied unidimensional corruption indices fail to grasp important qualitative differences between various manifestations of corruption, creating substantive obstacles in corruption research. Against this background, the present article develops a typology of country-level corruption patterns comprising four Weberian ideal types (ITs) and assigns countries to ITs based on the fuzzy-set ideal type analysis (FSITA) method. The typology focuses on formal and informal institutions that influence emerging corruption patterns rather than tangible properties of corruption. The four ITs are Limited misconduct in developed countries , Partial state capture , Autocratic patrimonialism , and Dispersed and unconstrained corruption . The analysis, comprising a total of 83 countries globally, offers novel insights into corruption patterns and their underlying mechanisms, demonstrates the applicability of the FSITA method in the context of corruption research, and offers policy pointers in the field of anti-corruption.

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