The phenomenon of corruption as a potential threat to the economic security of the state
This work is presented in the form of a theoretical analysis aimed at studying the prerequisites for the emergence, essence, and consequences of the influence of corruption operations on the economic security of the state.
The reorganization of the systems for the implementation of national, including economic security, has become a priority issue regarding the implementation of the welfare policy of the countries of the world economy. For the current period of time, each of the modern states has found itself in conditions where more attention should be paid to the principles of providing security to state apparatuses.
Based on the fact that the main engines of the economy and participants in the implementation of social reforms at the national level are enterprises, the violation of the functional of associations can lead to consequences equal to excesses of both state and global scale. Now, corruption is considered one of the main threats to the security levels of states.
According to the UN reference document on the international fight against corruption, prepared by the UN Secretariat on April 13, 1995, corruption is the abuse of state power to obtain benefits for personal purposes (source). If we focus on this definition, it can be emphasized that the subject of this act is a person who is directly related to cases in public authorities. However, it should be noted that most international legal documents do not give a clear designation of corruption, since there is a wide range of corruption acts falling under the criminal legislation [4].
It is also worth noting that corruption schemes are under the influence not only of officials of state institutions, but also persons who serve as managers in commercial organizations, which, being monopolists in one sphere or another, interfere with the normal development of the state.
A number of crisis economic phenomena, when legal entities and individuals are forced to resort to creditor agreements and subsidiary payments due to violations of processions in enterprises or their progressive reduction in the volume of output/reduction of working resources, are highlighted as fundamental prerequisites for the generalization of corrupt activities.
In such a case, one may observe frequent appeals to the relevant authorities, as a result of which corruption acquires an all-encompassing character.
In addition, there is a shadowing of the economy, which has a devastating effect on the foundation of the state and its apparatus, since one of the drivers of this phenomenon is bribery of state employees [2].
It is important to say that when conducting research in the field of corruption, first of all it is necessary to identify those concepts of this phenomenon that pose an immediate threat to the economic security of the state.
These threats are the following: expansion of the shadow economy; combining criminal elements with the legal economy through access to political power and dirty money laundering opportunities; violation of competitive market conditions; obstacles in attracting efficient private owners; inefficient use of budget funds; price increases by including the costs of “services” of corrupt officials in the price; reduction of trust in the state and its ability to regulate economic processes; promotion of social inequality and a growing income disparity between different layers of the population [1].
All this, of course, has common features of what should be expected in the process of excessive appeal by some persons to illegal ways of obtaining funds. Now we can see the effect of these factors on the economic security of countries.
- Increase in the scale of the shadow economy. Corruption and the shadow economy are interdependent: on the one hand, corruption is the generation of the shadow economy and generates all sorts of conditions for its existence, and on the other hand, the shadow economy is the material foundation for the existence of corruption. Analysis of the relationship between the corruption perception index and the level of the shadow economy showed a close inverse relationship, as evidenced by the value of the correlation coefficient - 0.93.
- The merging of crime with the legal economy through access to political power and the possibility of “dirty money laundering. The conduct of corrupt practices is oriented to unlawful enrichment. Funds obtained as a result of corrupt deeds are legalized in varying ways [3].
Thus, it can be concluded that corruption is a significant stupor for the full functioning of states and has a significant basis for violating the principles of the existence of the world order. As mentioned earlier, this phenomenon appears to be a high threat to both national security and the economic security of the country. Therefore, in order to increase the level of economic security, along with the resolution of other issues in the field of ensuring economic security, it is necessary to resort to effective methods of combating corruption, starting with the causes and prerequisites for its occurrence.
References
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