Editing Political corruption (section)

==Governmental corruption==
[[File:Imee and Ferdinand Marcos during the latter's 21 year reign as Philippine president.jpg|thumb|[[Ferdinand Marcos]] (pictured with his daughter [[Imee Marcos|Imee]]) was a Philippine dictator and kleptocrat. His regime was infamous for its corruption.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/10bn-dollar-question-marcos-millions-nick-davies|title=The $10bn question: what happened to the Marcos millions?|author=Nick Davies|date=May 7, 2016|work=The Guardian}}</ref>]]
[[File:Rusia entregó el relevo de la antorcha de la Copa del Mundo a Qatar.jpg|thumb|[[Russia]] handing over the symbolic relay baton for the hosting rights of the [[2022 FIFA World Cup]] to [[Qatar]] in June 2018]]
If the highest echelons of the governments take advantage of corruption or embezzlement from the state's treasury, it is sometimes referred to the neologism ''[[kleptocracy]]''. Members of the government can take advantage of the [[natural resource]]s (e.g., diamonds and oil in a few prominent cases) or state-owned productive industries. A number of corrupt governments have enriched themselves via foreign aid. Indeed, there is a positive correlation between aid flows and high levels of corruption within recipient countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Svensson |first=Jakob |year=2000 |title=Foreign Aid and Rent-Seeking |doi=10.1016/S0022-1996(99)00014-8 |journal=Journal of International Economics |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=437–461 |citeseerx=10.1.1.195.5516 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alesina |first1=Alberto |author-link=Alberto Alesina |last2=Weder |first2=Beatrice |author-link2=Beatrice Weder di Mauro |year=2002 |title=Do Corrupt Governments Receive less Foreign Aid? |doi=10.1257/00028280260344669 |journal=[[American Economic Review]] |volume=92 |issue=4 |pages= 1126–1137|url=http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4553011 }}</ref>

[[File:Abu Ghraib 91.jpg|right|thumb|US Military Police officer restraining and sedating prisoner while a soldier holds him down]]
Corruption in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] consists primarily of extracting [[economic rent]] and moving the resulting [[financial capital]] overseas instead of investing at home. Authors [[Leonce Ndikumana]] and [[James K. Boyce]] estimate that from 1970 to 2008, [[capital flight]] from 33 sub-Saharan countries totalled $700 billion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Should Africa challenge its "odious debts?" |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/angolaNews/idAFL5E8ED3JD20120315 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508175341/https://af.reuters.com/article/angolaNews/idAFL5E8ED3JD20120315 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 May 2019 |work=Reuters |date=15 March 2012}}</ref> A corrupt [[dictatorship]] typically results in many years of general hardship and suffering for the vast majority of citizens as [[civil society]] and the [[rule of law]] disintegrate. In addition, corrupt dictators routinely ignore economic and [[society|social]] problems in their quest to amass ever more wealth and power. The classic case of a corrupt, exploitive dictator often given is the regime of [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko]], who ruled the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (which he renamed [[Zaire]]) from 1965 to 1997.<ref>{{cite news |title=How US nurtured dictators to Africa's detriment |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/how-us-nurtured-dictators-to-africas-detriment-17744850 |work=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|Independent Online]] |date=2 November 2018}}</ref> It is said that usage of the term [[kleptocracy]] gained popularity largely in response to a need to accurately describe Mobutu's regime. Another classic case is [[Nigeria]], especially under the rule of General [[Sani Abacha]] who was ''[[de facto]]'' president of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998.  He is reputed to have stolen some [[US$]]3 billion–4 billion. He and his relatives are often mentioned in [[Nigerian 419]] letter scams claiming to offer vast fortunes for "help" in laundering his stolen "fortunes", which in reality turn out not to exist.<ref>Who wants to be a millionaire? – An online collection of Nigerian scam mails</ref> More than $400 billion was stolen from the treasury by Nigeria's leaders between 1960 and 1999.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nigeria's corruption totals $400 billion |publisher=[[Malaysia Today]] |date=June 27, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211033642/http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-e/2005/06/nigerias-corruption-totals-400-billion.htm |archive-date=2007-12-11|url=http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-e/2005/06/nigerias-corruption-totals-400-billion.htm }}</ref>

===Judiciary corruption===
There are two methods of corruption of the judiciary: the state (through budget planning and various privileges), and the private. [[Budget]] of the judiciary in many transitional and [[developing countries]] is almost completely controlled by the executive. The latter undermines the separation of powers, as it creates a critical financial dependence of the judiciary. The proper national wealth distribution including the government spending on the judiciary is subject of the [[constitutional economics]].<ref>{{cite magazine |first= Peter |last=Barenboim |title= Defining the rules |magazine= The European Lawyer |issue=90 |date=October 2009 |issn=1470-9279}}</ref> [[Judicial corruption]] can be difficult to completely eradicate, even in developed countries.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pahis|first1=Stratos|title=Corruption in Our Courts: What It Looks Like and Where It Is Hidden|journal=The Yale Law Journal|date=2009|volume=118|access-date=1 August 2015|url=http://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/corruption-in-our-courts-what-it-looks-like-and-where-it-is-hidden}}</ref>