Abstract

The article studies the influence of the newest undemocratic regimes on the intensity of corruption practice in politics. It states that the current trend is the emergence of undemocratic regimes of a new type, which are characterized by the dynamic interconnection of coercion and corruption, which lead to corruptive seizure of power. It is noteworthy that such regimes have arisen in the states that had overthrown the totalitarian regime, but have not formed a democracy. Instead they have created a specific system of methods of exercising powers, which is not strictly authoritarian, but at the same time it does not conform to the standards of democracy. Such states with neo-authoritarian regimes include, among others, the sovereign states of former USSR in the Central Asian region. Their example reveals how the type of political regime affects the level of political corruption and whether such states are able to reduce the manifestations of these unlawful actions or whether the anti-corruption strategies and declarations are nothing more than just populist instruments. The author states that the level of corruption is extremely high in all the states of Central Asia, which have personalist neo-authoritarian regimes: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, as well as in Kyrgyzstan, which has corporative type of regime. The author concludes that political corruption in the states of Central Asia has become profound and systematic. Its scale is defined as a threat to the progressive development of the states of this region. The article draws attention to the set of factors contributing to the corrupt practices in politics, which include: the weakness of civil society and the offensive of neo-authoritarian governments against its institutions; lack of public control and accountability of politicians; strong clan traditions; declarative installation of some elements of democracy; dependence of the key political decisions on the head of state etc.