kleptocracy

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Kleptocracy: (from Greek klepto=theft and kratos=rule) Sometimes cleptocracy, occasionally kleptarchy, is a term applied to a government that extends the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class (collectively, kleptocrats) at the expense of the population, sometimes without even the pretense of honest service.

Characteristics

Kleptocracies are often dictatorships or some other form of autocratic and nepotist government, or lapsed democracies that have transformed into oligarchies.^{[citation needed]} A kleptocratic ruler typically treats his country's treasury as though it were his own personal bank account.

Effects

The effects of a kleptocratic regime or government on a nation are typically adverse in regards to the faring of the state's economy, political affairs and civil rights. Kleptocracy in government often vitiates prospects of foreign investment and drastically weakens the domestic market and cross-border trade. As the kleptocracy normally embezzles money from its citizens by misusing funds derived from tax payments, or money laundering schemes, a kleptocratically structured political system tends to degrade nearly everyone's quality of life. In addition, the money that kleptocrats steal is often taken from funds that were earmarked for public amenities, such as the building of hospitals, schools, roads, parks and the like - which has further adverse effects on the quality of life of the citizens living under a kleptocracy.^[1] The quasi-oligarchy that results from a kleptocratic elite also subverts democracy (or any other political format the state is ostensibly under).^[2]

Examples

Historical

According to one source, an old case of a kleptocratic governed state was Kievan Rus' where the alliance between Varangians and Slavic élites set up this type of government which resisted all attacks until 1240 when the Tatars conquered Kiev.^[3]

Modern

Transparency International ranking

In early 2004, the anti-corruption Germany-based NGO Transparency International released a list of what it believes to be the ten most self-enriching leaders in recent years.^[4]

In order of amount allegedly stolen (in USD), they are:

1. Former Indonesian President Suharto ($15 billion – $35 billion)
2. Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos ($5 billion – $10 billion)
3. Former Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko ($5 billion)
4. Former Nigerian President Sani Abacha ($2 billion – $5 billion)
5. Current Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ( $1 billion - $1.7 Billion )
6. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević ($1 billion)
7. Former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier ($300 million – $800 million)
8. Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori ($600 million)
9. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko ($114 million – $200 million)
10. Former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán ($100 million)
11. Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada ($78 million – $80 million)

Narcokleptocracy

A narcokleptocracy is a society ruled by "thieves" involved in the trade of narcotics.

The term has its origin in a report prepared by a subcommittee of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Massachusetts Senator John Kerry.^[5] The term was used specifically to describe the regime of Manuel Noriega in Panama. The term's construction builds on the already existing pejorative term "kleptocracy"- which is a government run by thieves. That is more precisely, a government run expressly for the financial benefit of those who govern.

Statement by the Bush Administration

In 2006, the Bush Administration, consistent with promises made at the prior G8 Summit, enunciated a policy specifically intended to internationalize an effort to resist, pursue, and prosecute kleptocracies.^[6]. The White House stated intended commitments to: denying safe haven, bringing together major financial centers vulnerable to exploitation in order to develop preventive anti-corruption practices, enhance international information sharing on corrupt officials, uncover, seize, and return stolen funds and prosecute those criminals involved, and ensure greater multilateral action in helping to develop and repair those areas of the world stricken by high-level corruption.^[7]

See also

• Dictatorship
• Failed state
• Lumpenbourgeoisie
• Netocracy
• Oligarchy
• Organized Crime
• Political corruption
• Raubwirtschaft

References