Corruption in America : A Fifty-Ring Circus

This book explores the reality of corruption in America, analyzing its presence across policy areas in all fifty states. The authors also address issues of political trust and provide a thought-provoking analysis of the challenges facing efforts to reform the system.

How corrupt is the United States of America? While the US presents itself as an exemplar of democratic government and politics, many citizens see it as highly corrupt. In this book, Oguzhan Dincer and Michael Johnston explore corruption across a range of policy areas in all fifty states using two major forms of corruption – legal and illegal – via three proxy measures of corruption. They not only estimate the pervasiveness of such corruption in each state, but also compare and contrast their causes, consequences, and implications for contemporary issues including racial inequities, public health policy, and the environment, while also highlighting issues of citizen participation and trust in political processes. The book presents no reform toolkits or quick fixes for American corruption problems, but frames key challenges of institutional change and democratic political revival that can be used in the struggle to build a more just, and better-governed, society.