Corruption in Romania : first steps towards a grounded theory of corruption

Abstract

The first years of transition in Romania have been characterised by an escalation of corruption which largely remained unacknowledged at the social level in a time of rapid economic and social deterioration. Only the late 90 s brought the problem of corruption to public agenda as the media began to reveal some cases of grand corruption and in relation to the process of integration of the country in the European Union. A strong discourse about corruption emerged starting with 2000, which pushed into shadow the more classical and visible social problems of transition like poverty, unemployment, or issues related to the consolidation of democracy.<br />This paper is an endeavour to illustrate the way corruption is perceived in Romania and the argumentative patterns that result from various discourses on the phenomenon. The aim is to analyse the perceptions towards corruption of those groups which have important roles in targeting corruption in society: politics, media, civil society, economy, judiciary and police.