Corruption and Organized Crime Threat Monitoring Report (original) (raw)
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Corruption's economic and political implications in the Republic of Macedonia
Although the corruption topic is not a new phenomenon, the same receives special attention in the transition countries. This trend has not omitted the public attention in Macedonia. For the purpose of a qualitative analysis of this phenomenon there is a need for interdisciplinary approach, but this work will stick only to the economic impact performed by the mechanisms of institutional economy and/or new political economy. The basic idea of the model developed in this work is that in Macedonia, for more than a decade, there is no economic growth as a result of the lack of investments in the basic sources for economic growth: physical capital, human capital and social capital.
2013
: The problem of corruption in civil administration has been around for as long as individuals have held public office. The Balkans has proved to be no exception. As early as the 16th century, corruption began to be tolerated and widely accepted within the region. The corruption problem was greatly exacerbated following the disintegration of communism and the successive civil wars that plagued Yugoslavia throughout the 1990s. During this period, governmental officials forged strong, unhealthy relationships with criminal elements. These close ties between organized crime and governmental officials have continued unabated until the present day and help form the basis of a pervasive culture of corruption in the region. This high level of corruption in the Balkans is problematic since both the EU and NATO have continued to expand eastward since the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Any new members admitted to either organization must share the same liberal democratic value...
International Journal of Law and Management, 2012
Macedonian municipalities should pass anti-corruption ordinances in order to reduce corruption. The paper reviews the legal issues involved in drafting such ordinances and provides legal advisors to local councils with the legal and economic analysis needed to tackle some of the more difficult and detailed questions. The most important issue revolves around the creation of a model ordinance which Macedonian municipalities (or the Association of Units of Local Self-Government of the Republic of Macedonia) could adopt in order to set-up and run municipal-level anti-corruption agencies. The location of such agencies as well as their competencies (to monitor conflicts of interests, oversee asset declarations, and conduct corruption risk-audits among others ) are analysed. The paper also provides legal interpretations of Macedonian legislation and their likely impact on municipal council ordinance design in the area of anti-corruption -- providing the legal basis for positive administrative silence, the splitting of municipal procurement contracts, and (most controversially) qui tam rewards at the municipal level. A brief regulatory impact analysis of the ordinance shows a gain of €162,900 in social welfare if such a programme were rolled-out in Macedonia.
European Journal of Social Sciences, 2018
Considering that the Republic of Macedonia in the last fifteen years is governed by a political administration with non-functional democracy where the power for so long stood in the hands of a party coalition (VMRO-DPMNE / DUI), who created obedience to the masses for eternal leaders by embarrassing the state in the corner of liberty and legitimacy, and thus overthrowing the system of democratic values.For this reason, this study will examine crime, corruption and other misconducts in state institutions of the Republic of Macedonia by official persons in the period 2008-2017. The study will be elaborated from a sociological perspective based on sociological paradigms that explain deviance and crime in society, focusing on the narrative methodology through which we will professionally review the cases of crime and corruption by state authorities. Among other things, this paper will also examine the consequences that society suffers from abuses of state leadership by governing for a d...
Impact of Corruption in Governance of the Western Balkan Countries
Abstract Corruption as an impediment to good governance and to economic development nowadays has developed in a very large scale, influencing all the major public fields of politics, economics, administration and judiciary. Western Balkan countries and Albania in particular could not avoid this phenomenon since the level of the informal economy has been very high and it has made possible to increase the level of corruption, despite the numerous measures taken to combat and to control it. This study analyzes the impact of corruption on the informal economy, and the inefficiencies of the public sector for revenue collection. It studies the impact of corruption on budget as well as the unfulfilling of needs and coping measures against corruption as well as the decline of the public confidence in state institution. The vicious circle of corruption, informal economy, the reductions of formal economy, the financial inability to address public needs and the inefficient governance are the main issues analyzed in this study. It also focuses on last measures voted to combat corruption such as the efficient implementation of the monitoring systems included in the government reform. Keywords: Corruption, Informal Economy, Albania, Proceeds Of Crimes, Anti-Corruption Policies.
The 'Silent Guardians' in the Fight against Corruption: The Case of North Macedonia1
Central European Public Administration Review, 2020
Impartial public administration is a key gatekeeper against corruptive practices and the necessary condition for the process of democratisa-tion. Yet, in the case of North Macedonia, there is an ongoing challenge in addressing the problem of politicisation of public administration. On one hand, the ombudsman holds the normative position to safeguard citizens in front of state administration bodies, to act upon the impartiality biases or other deviances of norms, and to annually report to the National Parliament. On the other hand, the parliament should be able to hold executives and institutions accountable for their actions and to act upon the ombudsman's recommendations. However, there is a limited understanding of the role that these two institutions can play in an effective fight against corruption as part of the democratisation processes. The purpose of the article is to examine the institutional gaps where the opportunities for corruption and social traps are encouraged. Based on theoretical, empirical as well as comparative observations, within single case method analysis, this article aims to examine the compliance of the theoretical fingerprints with the actual practice and provide a different angle on the institutional opportunities for social traps, in the context of unconsolidated democracies. The findings show that there is a causality between the institutional 'silent guardian' of the citizens and the prevalence of corruption. It also encourages further discussion on the factors that undermine the positions of the ombudsman and the parliament to take active engagement in rooting out the corruption from societies.
Palaskas, E. (2020), 'Organised crime in the Western Balkans', University of Macedonia.
This paper investigates the topic of organised crime in the region of Western Balkans. Significantly, it focuses on the types and illicit activities of organised crime groups and their connection with public administration. Ominously, Wester Balkans, a region which had been out of the spotlight of conflicts, after the Yugoslav and Kosovo wars, and considered to be on a path towards reconciliation and prosperity is once again at stake. This can be attributed in part to the deficiency of the region – and its allies – to counter organised crime and corruption. In that respect, new challenges of security emerge that necessitate a collective response from the international community.
Corruption in Serbia: Unique or a shared Balkan disease?
Temida, 2009
The break up of Yugoslavia resulted in successor states in which corruption spread like wildfire, except Slovenia. Therefore, research of corruption in one country of the Western Balkan should be projected against neighbours. Studying corruption in Serbia and projecting it against her neighbours shows that it scores on some indexes in-between. Doing research on the criminal law processing of corruption in Serbia appears to be in many ways a challenge, even if some initial support is provided. The available data appear to be badly managed and full of pitfalls, which makes it difficult to come to firm conclusions. Nevertheless, the first reconnaissance appeared to be useful in the sense that at present the penal law system appears to be mainly populated by 'small fry': serious cases are still rare. The processing time is very long with a usual mild sentencing outcome. The paper provides suggestions for opening up law enforcement.