Corruption as a systemic phenomenon is usually attributed to developing states and their weak institutional capacity to impose rule of law. However, unlike the predominant view which isolates state...Show moreCorruption as a systemic phenomenon is usually attributed to developing states and their weak institutional capacity to impose rule of law. However, unlike the predominant view which isolates state affairs to a national domain, alternative view states that when countries are becoming more financially and economically interdependent, they are inevitably faced with transnational issues which infuse their domestic sphere. This thesis continues to research corruption in a global context and particularly studies how neoliberal, i.e. pro-market and de-regulation norms and policies which dominated certain advanced economies’ spheres for the past decades, affect their institutional capacity to impose rule of law to control foreign corruption. A case study between Germany and the United States is conducted to test this theory and finds that the neoliberal policies and norms contribute to these countries’ struggle to impose adequate control even when corruption directly affects their domestic spheres. Yet, due to their institutional differences, their capabilities diverge in an interesting fashion.Show less
