Corruption in the government is used in many different ways. But to have a better understanding of what corruption is about, let’s us discussed it a bit further.
In essence, political corruption is anyone in the government who are abusing their position and power for illegitimate purposes and to satisfy their private gains. Illegal act by officeholder do constitutes political corruption if the act is related directly to official duties, involves trading in the process or if it is done under the color of law.
Various Forms of Political Corruption
As mentioned earlier, there are many forms of political corruption and they vary in the following:
- Extortion
- Bribery
- Nepotism
- Cronyism
- Embezzlement
- Graft and;
- Patronage
Corruption can even facilitate criminal enterprise similar to money laundering, human and drug trafficking.
Different Angles of Corruption
But you must know that these aren’t restricted to the mentioned activities. At the same time, misusing government power for other applications like general police brutality and repression of political parties aren’t deemed as political corruption. Neither are illegal activities by the corporations nor private individuals that not directly involved the government.
Take into account that activities constituting illegal corruption are going to vary as per the jurisdiction or the country where it happened.