Resources
On 1 April 2026, Serkan Şeker presented a paper entitled “Political Corruption as Accountability Deficit: A Theory-Probing Study of Hungary” at the ECPR Seminar Series on (Anti-)Corruption and Integrity.
A recording of the presentation and the subsequent discussion is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfFuyVjCZa8
Abstract
This article advances an empirically informed approach to political theory through conceptual traveling across regime types. It examines whether the ethics of office accountability theory, primarily tailored to democratic settings, retains its analytical power in analysing political corruption in a hybrid regime. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with Hungarian officeholders, the article explores how public servants themselves interpret the corruption of institutional actions. Confirming the broader applicability of the ethics of office accountability, the findings demonstrate that political corruption is understood as a deficit of office accountability in a hybrid regime in which institutional normativity has been gradually hollowed out. The study also identifies case-specific peculiarities to hybrid regimes. It shows that political corruption emerges as a systemic failure in a hybrid regime rather than individual misconduct. The research calls for further theory-driven normative and empirical inquiry for more cross-fertilisation between normative theorising and empirical analysis that may pave the way for a more integrated framework across regime types.
Albania has introduced Diella, a digital assistant turned “virtual minister,” tasked with managing public procurement with the stated goal of making it “100 percent free from corruption.”
"The reform is cloaked in a narrative of replacing human arbitrariness with the “objectivity” of the machine. Yet by weakening the human factor, it also undermines the practices of scrutiny and critical discussion—that very fabric which allows us to uncover non-codified favoritism and deviations that leave no simple evidentiary traces, such as covert forms of nepotism. [...] AI technologies can be helpful by flagging risks, ensuring consistency in judgment, and standardizing decisions. Yet many ethically significant forms of corruption—such as favoritism that does not blatantly violate any rule—can persist within a system focused solely on regulations. Supporting institutional integrity therefore requires practices aimed at fostering an ethics of public office within institutions. It is essential to invest in the ethical support and training of public officials, so that they have the tools needed to engage in a documented and self-critical reflection on the reasons behind their choices."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0lD0mItBHk&t=25s
In this interview Emanuela Ceva discusses her research journey from studying cooperative interactions in political conflict circumstances to exploring the role of emotions in corruption and the ethics of anti-corruption. Prof. Ceva discusses her work on "endogenous institutional trustworthiness," which explored the ‘mixed affective fabric of dysfunctional institutions’ and asked how trust can and ought to operate within institutions and between institutional members as a foundation for proper functioning. Prof. Ceva also advocates for future research that bridges empirical and normative approaches to emotions, particularly when investigating questions about when emotional responses like ‘trust’ in institutions are justified or warranted. Her work demonstrates how positive emotions can serve as motivational forces for institutional self-repair and improved democratic dialogue.
Is philanthropy compatible with democracy? In this podcast, Matthieu Debief and Emanuela Ceva discuss the relationship between the nature of democratic authority and philanthropic authority (podcast in French).
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