Jordi A. -- Comparative Gov.

In my opinion the two most corrupt nations in the world are China and Russia.
China considers themselves a democracy despite the fact that thee is only ever one candidate on the ballot. Additionally, they oppress their people by censoring the media. Russia elects a "president" (Vladimir Putin), but at this point he's basically a dictator. He's been very oppressive to the Russian people and has banned being homosexual. Both countries have managed to emerge as world leaders despite oppressing their peoples and running mock democracies.

While each country calls themselves a democracy, the rest of the world does not see it that way. Their elections are routinely rigged. There is always only one candidate on the ballet. These countries can change this by opening up elections to have more possible candidates.

Ryan Monte Comparative Government

The two most corrupt governments that can be seen are China and Iran.  China is an openly socialist and communist state that has a national assembly and a president that serves as a figurehead, while the premier of China has all executive power. Iran is theocratic-democratic nation that combines the ideas of democracy and theocracy by putting the Islamic jurists over the political figures in a system called the Supreme Leadership. Iran is corrupt for two reasons. First they constantly censor free speech and press, and all news is a state run source, leading to inherently biased news, and because Iran allows the Islamic religion to have power over the elected officials, leading to a lack of freedom of religion and to an increase in clerical influence over policy. Iran could become less corrupt if they would separate the religion from the state and allow for a truly democratic government.

China is corrupt for two reasons as well. China has a democratically elected president, however he holds no real power and services as a figurehead, showing that the peoples votes and voices don’t count. Another reason is that the communist party is the only political party and that means that since there is no opposition, the communist party wins every time. This shows a lack choice and a great amount of corruption, as the officials have no reason to do their job because they will always get reelected. If China would reform their constitution to allow a more varied political spectrum then there would be more representation in the Government.

Nina Kaushikkar: Comparative Government: Corruption

Iran and Nigeria have the most corrupt governments, both in my own opinion, based on prior knowledge, and confirmed by the Corruptions Percentage Index 2015, with Iran ranked 130 and Nigeria 136 in terms of the level of corruption present based on the standards outlined by this organization.

There are a variety of similarities and differences between the Iranian and Nigerian governments. Both countries have similar procedures and methods by which they select their head of state (i.e. through direct popular elections, having multiple candidates, and creating fixed election cycles with two-term limits). However, when it comes to political parties, there are vast differences. In Iran, political parties were banned until 1998, and even the parties that exist now are, in reality, mere groups with similar political alignments. In contrast, Nigeria has numerous parties, defined by different factions (divided by ethnicity, religion, and so forth). Additional differences lie within their structures of leadership: Iran has a dual executive structure, wherein there is both a president and a Supreme Leader (who must be a direct descendant of Muhammad and primarily supervises politics to ensure conformity with Islamic law). Nigeria has no such system, which highlights a religious difference between the two countries as well, as Iran has elements of theocracy, that affect all citizens, whereas Nigeria, as a federal constitutional republic, does not. Despite authoritarian leadership, however, both Iran and Nigeria have strong civil societies and high participation. Another commonality can be found in the types of leaders both countries have historically possessed, as some major governmental leaders are military, and have obtained the position they hold through coups.

Nigeria specifically has a great deal of corruption due to both British colonialism (and the tumultuous aftermath) as well as greed coupled with a political environment that favors the wealthy. In regards to instability, the British, upon their departure, left Nigeria with little political support to assist them in the transition to independence. As various groups fought over power, and power vacuums emerged, corruption emerged in the country as a part of these conflicts, and remains to this day. Additionally, the political environment in Nigeria favors those with greater wealth. As a result, politicians, in order to maintain their power and to satisfy their greed for material wealth, will often take advantage of the system to gain more money. This is furthered by the surrounding cultural environment, where tribal relations and gift-giving can sometimes lead to corruption.

Two major causes of corruption in Iran consist of governmental involvement in the economy and private markets and its structure of civil society (and particularly the incorporation of strict religious tenets). The lack of transparency surrounding governmental financial transactions allows for corruption to exist, especially given ties to the private market, and more prominently, the oil industry. It has also been suggested that the overall size of the government budget relative to GDP may be positively correlated with corruption levels. Iran’s civil society may also be a cause - Iran has a very traditional society and culture, where clan and a sense of community plays a large role, and as a result, this makes the society vulnerable to manipulation and corruption.

Crackdowns on corruption are occurring in both countries, with Iran having slightly more success. However, as the rhetoric decrying corruption often lacks subsequent actions, there are a number of solutions that both countries can take to reducing it. Focusing on education is the first solution, because ensuring that school and university curricula are in line with modern societal developments help reinforce positive values for future generations. This shouldn’t be limited to formal schooling, however; education through religious and community-based institutions and increased political participation may help bridge the gap between the younger generations and current politicians. The second solution is in terms of increased transparency, particularly through freedom of the press, which is notably lacking in Iran, but also to an extent in Nigeria. Demanding accountability, and investing in resources for oversight and management, particularly when it comes to governmental spending, may serve as an effective means of combating corruption. The third way to reduce corruption is to amend international laws, as countries (such as Sweden) that seemingly have no internal corruption actually do encounter this problem in their overseas interactions. Establishing common global conventions, such as through the UN Convention Against Corruption, may be a step in the right direction to reduce international loopholes that increase corruption.

Comparative Government

Josh Rowzee

AP GOV

05/26/2016

 I feel that North Korea and Afghanistan are the most corrupt government because the Koreans are 

always trying to start a war with the South Koreans. North Korea's Leader has the government go under his wing no matter what it is. The government would kill their own people just because they don't follow their leaders rule or laws. Afghanistan is corrupt because people are taking money from the government and the president is just allowing it to happen. I feel that the people should start fighting  the government even if they might die. Corruption exist because people just take stuff for greed because they feel that they don't have enough of something. Most of the corruption always involve the government because they always feel like they don't get enough.I feel that if people start executing the leaders maybe the government would change they might feel that the people aren't playing about what they believe in. 

00

Emily Agnew- Comparative Government

Emily Agnew

AP U.S. Government & Politics

Ms. Gordon

May 26, 2016

Comparative Government Questions

I believe that the two most corrupt governments are Iran and China. Iran has a Supreme Leader, which means that one man has very extensive powers, such as being commander-in-chief and can dismiss almost any other authoritative appointments and can make almost any governmental decision. Therefore, the power is not of the people. When one single person controls everything and has extensive power, it can be very dangerous to a society. China is run by a communist government, even though they claim to be a "democracy". During elections, the outcome is always clear because there is constantly one one candidate. China also implements extreme censorship and prevents its people from seeing what the government does not want them to see. Both of these countries are extremely power hungry and will do anything to gain more power: which includes oppressing their own people. In order to improve both of these governments, more power needs to be given to the people, as well as more rights and freedoms.

Jay Moore - Comparative Govt

Based off of the information presented in the power point, I would say that the two most corrupt countries are China and Iran.  China has the lowest GDP of all countries in the graph, mainly because of their population.  But with the government system they have, it is incredibly hard to rise through social classes and exceed in life.  This is because of communism.  Communism takes away all independence and creates great deals of income inequality.  A neurosurgeon should not be making the same amount of money as a McDonald's manager.  Unfortunately, China’s government is shaped this way that prevents economic independence and promotes corruptibility and income inequality.  Iran is also a corrupt nation.  While they may have a multiparty political system, the power does not lie in the hands of the people.  Government has all of the power and makes decisions without public approval.  Without the connection between politicians and the public, decisions are made that doesn’t benefit anyone.  This is why Iran has one of the lowest GDP’s and HDI’s.  Countries like China and Iran need to have a much more transparent relationship with their citizens if they want to thrive.  The lack of communication and cooperation are the main reasons these countries are among the most corrupt in the world.

Comparative Government-Alex Moore

Alex Moore

May 25th, 2016

Period 3

Comparative Government

1. I think that a dictatorship and fascist government are the most corrupt. A dictatorship is a type of government where political authority is controlled by an individual or a political entity. Fascism is a government with the basis of a powerful leader.
2. Fascism is based on three principles, glorification of the race, leadership principle, and the party. Hitler’s rule over the nazi party is an example of fascism. He and his fellow leaders had control over their people and were able to directly tell them what to do. A dictatorship is where one political entity has complete control over the people. They do anything to maintain their political power. An example of this type of government is North Korea. In North Korea, Kim-Jong Un. Fascism is corrupt because the leaders can make the people do whatever they say. With the Nazis, they convinced people that they were less than a human. A dictatorship is corrupt because one person has complete control over the people. The leader does not have to abide by any of the laws. If the leader is doing very negative things, nothing can be done to stop this leader. Fascism would be less corrupt if the people had more of a say. The people should be able to override the rule. A dictatorship would be less corrupt if the people could put a stop to the dictator. If the leader is being crazy, the people should be able to come together and get rid of them.