Corruption as a Threat to the Internal Security of the State

Abstract

Corruption poses a serious threat to the internal security of the state as it destabilises social relations and has a deleterious effect on the political system, negatively affecting legislation and the economy in particular. Corruption, as a phenomenon which erodes social relations, also results in demoralisation and the slackening of morals in society, which is an important substrate of the state. As a multi-dimensional phenomenon, corruption poses a threat to social relations within states and to their internal security both in the broad sense – as a threat to the instruments of the state, and in the narrow sense – threatening the lives, health and property of citizens. Corruption destabilises multiple areas of the functioning of the state, damages the political sphere, in particular in the case of unclear party financing rules and illicit lobbying. It also results in faulty laws and provisions being introduced (or not introduced) which favour the few. Corruption also involves destructive economic phenomena, especially in the case of large public projects and tax-related crimes. Morally, it constitutes treason. It ultimately destabilises state structures, rendering them dysfunctional and inefficient, and perverting the fundamental principles of democracy.