PECULIARITIES AND CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT BODIES

Abstract

The problem of combating corruption remains one of the most painful for society as a whole and for our country. It is a threat to economic, political and social development and democracy in general. This is especially true of public authorities, which are the personification of the state and the defender of the rights and freedoms of citizens. The purpose of our study is to identify the root causes of corruption in public authorities and develop proposals to overcome this negative phenomenon. In the article, corruption is understood as a negative social phenomenon, which is manifested in the fact that officials, public and political figures misuse their rights and opportunities to work for personal gain. The study used data from a personal survey of representatives of public authorities, national police, scientists, and legal services. The results show that respondents consider the situation in Ukraine ambiguous. Thus, 43.3 percent of respondents point to a high level of corruption, and 36.7 percent point to a medium level. 20 percent of respondents consider the situation with corruption to be quite comforting (10 percent consider it low and 10 percent are convinced that there are no manifestations of corruption). The causes of corruption in public authorities were analyzed, namely, it was found that these are primarily economic factors (for example, low wages, underdeveloped mechanisms for implementing social guarantees, etc.). The largest percentage of answers, namely 50 percent, is the opinion of respondents about not taking measures of responsibility for misdemeanors. 13.3 percent of respondents point to the low quality of the law and 20 percent to the non-transparency of officials’ work. Weakness or lack of public control is also pointed out, and 23.3 percent note a low legal culture. The results of the study can be used in the formation of state anti-corruption policy. Summarizing the above, we believe that the main thing in the formation of anti-corruption policy is to improve legislation in the field of anti-corruption and the development of public control and educational activities to inform society. Further research and opportunities to develop scientific thought in this area include the development of mechanisms to create an effective system for preventing and combating corruption, identifying and overcoming its preconditions and exposing corruption and bringing the perpetrators to justice.