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Motivation: Countries in the MENA region are perceived as highly corrupt. They are struggling to achieve clear results against corruption. Unfortunately, no country has reached a significant improvement on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International in 2021. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are the top performers in the Region. The former was ranked 69 out of 100, the latter 63 out of 100. Libya (17/100), Yemen (16/100), and Syria (13/100) awfully damaged by the war are the worst. The state-of-the-art impacts trust at the national level and the performance of public institutions as well.Aim: This paper aims to study the relationship between corruption and trust, and its impact on public economic performance in the MENA region. It is based on the data provided by Arabbarometer, 2018-2019. Our sample includes 8215 individuals located in 12 countries in that region. To test all our hypotheses simultaneously, we have used the structural equation modeling method with SmartPLS software. The latent variable of the research model – corruption, fighting corruption, and economic performance of the government- all of them are used as a reflective measurement. However, trust is included in the model as a formative measurement.Results: The findings show that trust in public institutions, measured by a formative scale, is negatively impacted by the level of corruption (-0,36). It also depends on the efforts made by the state to fight corruption in public agencies and institutions (0,37). Trust is one of the most important components of social capital. The performance of public policies is highly correlated to the level of trust between public administration and individuals. The government’s economic performance depends on the level of that trust (0,341), the efforts made to fight corruption (0,173), and public corruption (-230). All hypotheses are significant at 1%.

This article analyses strategies of electoral manipulation employed by the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. Three long-term methods and three short-term methods are examined, the former being unequal access to resources, media and law, and the latter being election fraud, intimidation of opposition, and vote buying. The text argues that the Turkish government employs primarily long-term strategies, but short-term ones are also present and thus should not be ignored. State resources are being siphoned to municipalities controlled by AKP and regime-friendly businessmen who then provide donations and other favors for the party. State media and media regulators came under the regime’s control, resulting in minimal coverage of the opposition in both public and most private media outlets. The takeover of the judiciary and vague definitions in the Anti-Terror law and other laws were used to suppress opposition politicians and journalists. It also allowed the regime to take control of bodies overseeing elections, leading to malpractice. Intimidation of opposition had a form of both legal prosecution and physical attacks and focused primarily on pro-Kurdish parties. Vote buying in Turkey seems mainly to be a form of rewarding voters of the ruling party, not an attempt to persuade swing voters.

The paper explores the main concepts and structures of public administration, with an emphasis on its role in the effective management of public resources and services. The essential functions of public administration are analyzed, such as the development and implementation of public policies, coordination between the various levels of government, and ensuring compliance with the principles of transparency and accountability. Contemporary challenges facing public administration are also discussed, including adapting to digitalisation, crisis management, and the need for reforms to improve efficiency and equity. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the importance of a well-structured public administration oriented to the needs of citizens.

This research is a quantitative study which aims to examine the level of corruption in the Indonesian local government with its influencing determinants, namely fiscal decentralization, government internal audit, and law enforcement and natural resources as moderating variables. The population in this study is the district and city governments in Indonesia. The sample in this study consisted of 81 district governments and 33 city governments based on the purposive sampling method with the criteria of district and city governments having permanent legal force corruption cases in 2019. Testing the hypothesis in this study using Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA) with the SPSS Version 24 program. The results showed that fiscal decentralization had a significant effect on the level of corruption, government internal audit and law enforcement had no significant effect on the level of corruption, natural resources had a significant effect on moderating the effect of fiscal decentralization on the level of corruption. This research was conducted to examine and analyze the factors that can influence the level of corruption in local governments. In addition, with this research, it can be seen how local governments carry out their government affairs and the role of local governments in suppressing the level of corruption.

The article discusses the Gorilla case, an officially still-contested partial state capture by a single local oligarchic group, in line with the (partial) Elite Cartels corruption pattern in Slovakia. Due to the manner in which evidence, although considered unofficial, was made available, this case illustrates secret political and business processes during partial state capture. The initial absence of the case in public, political, and academic discourses, suggests that state capture can be present and operate undetected for a long time. This study also shows that in-depth analysis of the Gorilla case was avoided by both domestic and international political scientists, despite its paramount practical and theoretical importance. This, in turn, reflects a methodological capture of political science. Consequently, this article disentangles the complexities of the Gorilla case and lays down the foundation for further studies. Specifically, it highlights the need for more careful research, terminological precision in both theory-building and empirical findings on state and media capture based on case studies, as well as re-assessment of the methodology of political sciences used in these research areas.

While this study focuses on corruption in depth, it specifically analyzes corruption in Turkey. The various definitions and scopes of corruption are examined, and Turkey's anti-corruption stance is examined based on international corruption indices. When analyzing regulations aimed at preventing corruption in Turkey, legal regulations and institutional structures are discussed. Furthermore, the effectiveness of these practices and institutional structures is investigated. When examining the existence of effective anti-corruption policies in Turkey, the contributions of regulations and institutional mechanisms that have emerged during this period are emphasized. Finally, in light of international comparisons, Turkey's current anti-corruption status and the need to strengthen the relevant framework are presented.

This paper deals with the core preventive anti-corruption authority in the Republic of North Macedonia (hereinafter: Macedonia), which is the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (hereinafter: SCPC). The main research question is: can and does the SCPC effectively control the public administration as per its legal competencies and does it therefore prevent corruption successfully? The final objective is to provide critical observations in terms of the SCPC’s functions, tasks, and powers, as well as its performance and the effects of its work, which would later allow for recommendations for improvement. In other words, the paper will indicate that a discrepancy exists. By law, the SCPC is the key authority for prevention of corruption in the public administration. In reality, the SCPC’s successes are rather humble – the administrative corruption has hardly been eliminated. The content of the paper reflects its object and the idea behind it. It shall pay attention to the existing research in terms of the prevalence of corruption in the Macedonian public administration (so that the national context is given), the role of the SCPC by law and its performances.

This article explores the structure, functions, and role of public administration authorities within a democratic state. It addresses the main categories of public authorities, both at the central and local levels, as well as their interactions with citizens and other institutions. Recent reforms in public administration are also discussed, with a focus on efficiency, transparency, and digitalization. The analysis highlights the importance of these authorities in ensuring good governance and the fair and efficient application of legislation.

This article analyses the notion of non-pecuniary bribes as an attribute of corruption offenses and draws attention to the problem of high legal uncertainty in understanding the content of this legal concept. The author highlights the essential criteria according to which one or another non-pecuniary benefit can be recognized as an unlawful or unjustified reward and proposes appropriate changes in the system of anti-corruption norms that would reduce legal uncertainty and bring the concept of a non-pecuniary bribe in line with the principle of the legality of criminal law (nullum crimen sine lege). The author also argues that the concept of non-pecuniary bribery was not properly implemented in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, as it was not separated from the primary definitions of bribery and trading in influence, which are related to the monetary value of the bribe. On the one hand, this undermined the applicability of this concept; on the other hand, it posed the risk of its excessive application, even in cases where such benefits are not characterized by any negativity or are offered for legitimate official acts, even without prior agreement. The term “personal benefit” was also incorrectly chosen, as it unreasonably encourages the search for connections only within the sphere of personal life. From an anticorruption point of view, it does not matter what interests (personal, work, public, political, corporate or other) a non-material bribe is related to.