Executive Leaders’ Corruption in Contemporary Democracies

Abstract

Largely due to the process of the presidentialization of politics, executive leaders have gained a crucial position in legislative and governmental activities in most contemporary democracies 1 . We note a shift from a collegial form to a monocratic one, enabling Presidents and Prime Ministers to become the focal point of the institutional framework which parties have dominated for a long time 2 . At the same time, their ethical integrity is a prerequisite for both implementing good policies and shaping good societies 3 . However, judicial investigations against them have multiplied over the last decades. Between January 1990 and May 2008, 67 Heads of State or government from 43 countries had been formally charged or indicted with serious criminal offences such as corruption 4 .