Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or kleptarchy, from Greek Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of: κλέπτης (thieve) and κράτος (rule), is a term applied to a government A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a house in the congress body politic. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government" that takes advantage of governmental corruption Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved to extend the personal wealth and political power of government officials and the ruling class The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy - assuming there is one such particular class in the given society (collectively, kleptocrats), via the embezzlement Embezzlement is a kind of financial fraud. For instance, a clerk or cashier handling large sums of money could embezzle cash from his or her employer, a lawyer could embezzle funds from clients' trust accounts, a financial advisor could embezzle funds from investors, or a spouse could embezzle funds from his or her partner. Embezzlement may range of state funds at the expense of the wider population, sometimes without even the pretense of honest service. The term means "rule by thieves". Not an "official" form of government (such as democracy Democracy is a political form of government where governing power is derived from the people, either by direct referendum or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy). The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία – (dēmokratía) "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) &, republic A republic is a form of government in which the people or some portion thereof retain supreme control over the government, and in which the head of government is not a monarch. The word "republic" is derived from the Latin phrase res publica, which can be translated as "a public affair", monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which all political power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual or individuals. As a political entity, the monarch is the head of state, generally until their death or abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state." The person who heads a monarchy is called a, theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler, or in a higher sense, a form of government in which a state is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In Common Greek, "theocracy" means a rule [kra′tos] by God [the.os′]. For) the term is a pejorative for governments perceived to have a particularly severe and systemic problem with the selfish misappropriation of public funds Government spending or government expenditure is classified by economists into three main types. Government acquisition of goods and services for current use to directly satisfy individual or collective needs of the members of the community is classed as government final consumption expenditure. Government acquisition of goods and services by those in power.

Characteristics

Kleptocracies are generally associated with corrupt forms of authoritarian Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is opposed to individualism and democracy. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political power is concentrated in a leader or leaders, typically unelected, who possess exclusive, unaccountable, and arbitrary power governments, particularly dictatorships A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:, oligarchies An oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, or military control. The word oligarchy is from the Greek words "ὀλίγος" (olígos), "a few" and the verb "ἄρχω" (archo), "to rule, to govern, to, military juntas A military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors. Sometimes it becomes a military dictatorship, though the terms are not synonymous, or some other form of autocratic An autocracy is a form of government in which one person possesses unlimited power. An autocrat is a person ruling with unlimited authority. The term autocrat is derived from the word autokratōr (αὐτοκράτωρ, lit. "self-ruler", or "one who rules by himself"). It is distinct from oligarchy ("rule by the few") and nepotist CDE · CEDAW · CERD · ILO C100 · ILO C111 · ILO C169 · Protocol No. 12 ECHR government in which no outside oversight is possible, due to the ability of the kleptocrat(s) to personally control both the supply of public funds and the means of determining their disbursal. A kleptocratic ruler typically treats their country's treasury A treasury is any place where the currency or items of high monetary value are kept. The term was first used in Classical times to describe the votive buildings erected to house gifts to the gods, such as the Siphnian Treasury in Delphi or many similar buildings erected in Olympia, Greece by competing city-states to impress others during the as though it were their own personal bank account, spending the funds on luxury goods In economics, a luxury good is a good for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises, in contrast to a "necessity good", for which demand is not related to income.[citation needed] as they see fit. Many kleptocratic rulers also secretly transfer public funds into secret personal numbered bank accounts in foreign countries in order to provide them with continued luxury if/when they are eventually removed from power and forced to flee the country.

Effects

The effects of a kleptocratic regime or government on a nation are typically adverse in regards to the faring of the state's economy An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area, the labor, capital and land resources, and the economic agents that socially participate in the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area. A given economy is the end result of a process that involves its technological evolution,, political affairs and civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression. Kleptocracy in government often vitiates prospects of foreign investment and drastically weakens the domestic market and cross-border trade. As the kleptocracy normally embezzles money from its citizens by misusing funds derived from tax payments To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law, or money laundering schemes, a kleptocratically structured political system tends to degrade nearly everyone's quality of life.

In addition, the money that kleptocrats steal is often taken from funds that were earmarked for public amenities, such as the building of hospitals, schools, roads, parks and the like - which has further adverse effects on the quality of life of the citizens living under a kleptocracy.^[1] The quasi-oligarchy that results from a kleptocratic elite also subverts democracy (or any other political format the state is ostensibly under).^[2]

Examples

Transparency International ranking

In early 2004, the anti-corruption Germany-based NGO A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from membership in the Transparency International Transparency International is an international non-governmental organization fighting corruption and trying to raise public awareness of it. This includes, but is not limited to, political corruption. It publishes every year its Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide. The international headquarters is located released a list of what it believes to be the ten most self-enriching leaders in recent years.^[3]

In order of amount allegedly stolen (in USD The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States of America. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents), they are:

1. Former Indonesian Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With a population of around 230 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, and has the world's largest population of Muslims. Indonesia is a republic, with an President Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was the second President of Indonesia, having held the office for 32 years from 1967 following Sukarno's removal until his resignation in 1998 ($15 billion – $35 billion)
2. Former Philippine The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and President Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos was President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives (1949–1959) and a member of the Philippine Senate (1959–1965). He was Senate President in 1963. He claimed that during World War II he had been the leader of Ang Maharlika, a guerrilla force ($5 billion – $10 billion)
3. Former Zairian The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the Portuguese: Zaire, itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers" President Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko (pronounced /məˈbuːtuː ˈsɛseɪ ˈsɛkoʊ/ in English), born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of Zaire (the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1965 to 1997. While in office, he formed an authoritarian regime in Zaire and attempted to purge ($5 billion)
4. Former Nigerian Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on President Sani Abacha General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998 ($2 billion – $5 billion)
5. Former Yugoslav The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was proclaimed by Constitution on April 27, 1992, under the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian, Serbian: Savezna Republika Jugoslavija, Савезна Република Југославија; SRJ, FRY). The state was formed from two former republics of SFR Yugoslavia, Serbia and President Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (sometimes transliterated as Miloshevich; Serbian pronunciation: [sloˈbodan miˈloʃevitɕ] ; Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Милошевић; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Federal Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in ($1 billion)
6. Former Haitian Haiti (pronounced /ˈheɪti/ ; French Haïti, pronounced: [a.iti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti, Haitian Creole pronunciation: [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti ; Repiblik Ayiti) is a Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago. Ayiti (land President Jean-Claude Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier (born July 3, 1951) was the ruler of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier as the ruler of Haiti upon his father's death in 1971 ($300 million – $800 million)
7. Former Peruvian Peru (pronounced /pəˈrʊ/ ; Spanish: Perú, Quechua: Piruw, Aymara: Piruw), officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðel peˈɾu] ( listen)), is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south President Alberto Fujimori Alberto Ken'ya Fujimori Fujimori (Spanish pronunciation: [fuxiˈmoɾi]; Japanese name: Ken'ya Fujimori ) (born in Lima on July 28, 1938) served as President of Peru from July 28, 1990, to November 17, 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited restoring macroeconomic stability, though his methods are described as authoritarian and ($600 million)
8. Former Ukrainian Ukraine (pronounced /juːˈkreɪn/ ew-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, transliterated: Ukrayina, [ukrɑˈjinɑ]), with its area of 600,000 sq km, is the second largest country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko Pavlo Ivanovych Lazarenko was a Ukrainian politician and former Prime Minister who, in August 2006, was convicted and sentenced to prison in the United States for money laundering, wire fraud and extortion. According to the official count by United Nations, approximately $200,000,000 has been looted by Lazarenko during 1996-1997 from the ($114 million – $200 million)
9. Former Nicaraguan Nicaragua (pronounced /ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə) officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the President Arnoldo Alemán ($100 million)
10. Former Philippine The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and President Joseph Estrada Joseph "Erap" Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the only president to have resigned from office and was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency ($78 million – $80 million)

Narcokleptocracy

A narcokleptocracy is a society ruled by "thieves" involved in the trade of narcotics The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with sleep-inducing properties. It has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin. The term is, today, imprecisely defined and typically has negative connotations. In a legal context, a narcotic drug is simply one that is totally prohibited, or one.

The term has its origin in a report prepared by a subcommittee of the United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. Senators serve staggered Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as well as funding, arms sales and training for, chaired by Massachusetts Massachusetts has been significant throughout American history. Plymouth was the second permanent English settlement in North America. Many of Massachusetts's towns were founded by colonists from England in the 1620s and 1630s. During the eighteenth century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty" for the agitation there that led Senator The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. Senators serve staggered John Kerry John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost by 34 electoral votes to incumbent President George W. Bush. Senator Kerry is a decorated Vietnam veteran, and was a.^[4] The term was used specifically to describe the regime of Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a former general and the military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989 in Panama. The term's construction builds on the already existing pejorative term "kleptocracy" — which is a government run by thieves. That is more precisely, a government run expressly for the financial benefit of those who govern.

Statement by the George W. Bush Administration

In 2006, the Bush Administration, consistent with promises made at the prior G8 Summit, enunciated a policy specifically intended to internationalize an effort to resist, pursue, and prosecute kleptocracies.^[5]. The White House stated intended commitments to: denying safe haven, bringing together major financial centers vulnerable to exploitation in order to develop preventive anti-corruption practices, enhance international information sharing on corrupt officials, uncover, seize, and return stolen funds and prosecute those criminals involved, and ensure greater multilateral action in helping to develop and repair those areas of the world stricken by high-level corruption.^[6]

See also

• Dictatorship
• Failed state
• Lumpenbourgeoisie
• Netocracy
• Oligarchy
• Organized Crime
• Political corruption
• Raubwirtschaft

References

1. ^ "Combating Kleptocracy". http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/1206/ijde/kleptocracy.htm. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
2. ^ "National Strategy Against High-Level Corruption: Coordinating International Efforts to Combat Kleptocracy". http://www.state.gov/r/pa/scp/2006/70236.htm. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
3. ^ "Plundering politicians and bribing multinationals undermine economic development, says TI" (pdf). Transparency International. 2004. http://www.transparency.org/content/download/4450/26759/file/GCR_2004_press_release_FINAL.pdf. Retrieved October 16, 2006.
4. ^ Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, December 1988
5. ^ "President's Statement on Kleptocracy". Transparency International. August 10, 2006. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060810.html. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
6. ^ "Fact Sheet: National Strategy to Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy". Bureau of Public Affairs. August 10, 2006. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/scp/2006/70236.htm. Retrieved November 7, 2008.

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