Anti-corruption Crusades and Democratic Erosion: Evidence from Guatemala

• In Event: Learning from Global Democratic Challenges and Innovations Mini-Conference III: Democracy, Dictatorship, and Democratic Backsliding in Central America

Abstract

The quality of democracy and the extent of political corruption are often seen as intertwined. Democratic institutions are assumed to be a bulwark against corruption because they provide mechanisms to hold corrupt officials accountable and enhance political competition in ways that disincentivize corrupt behavior. Corruption also has deleterious effects on democracy. It foments citizen mistrust and dissatisfaction with the democratic system and may even lay the groundwork for authoritarian actors to seize on widespread disillusionment and take power. Under these logics, efforts to combat corruption and strengthen rule of law institutions should have salutary effects on democracy. Yet, this is not always the case. Analyzing the Guatemalan context over the last fifteen years, this paper examines when and why anti-corruption crusades give way to democratic backsliding. In so doing, I unpack two mechanisms through which anti-corruption and rule of law strengthening efforts can trigger authoritarian regressions: 1) by stoking backlash amongst a broad swath of elite actors, who resort to anti-democratic maneuvers to preserve impunity, and 2) by developing new institutional tools that can be appropriated by anti-democratic actors to further autocratic legalism once in power. The Guatemalan case offers a cautionary tale for international and domestic anti-corruption efforts, illustrating the limits and unintended consequences of strengthening institutions within fragile and fraught democratic systems.

Author

• Rachel A. Schwartz, University of Oklahoma