When the Principal Cheers the Agent: Corruption, Political Violence, and Cultural Capture in an Age of Democratic Backsliding

Niousha Roshani

doi:10.70254/controlvisible.2026.6.87

Autores/as

Niousha Roshani Green Yield https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4749-5468

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70254/controlvisible.2026.6.87

Palabras clave:

corruption, principal-agent theory, cultural corruption, democratic backsliding, state capture, armed conflict, Colombia, Africa, fiscal control

Resumen

Si bien la segunda edición de Corruption and Government (2016), de Rose-Ackerman y Palifka, sigue constituyendo el marco más riguroso y exhaustivo dentro de la economía política de la corrupción, esta reseña sostiene que su modelo principal-agente presenta una limitación crítica: no logra explicar aquellos contextos en los que la corrupción ha llegado a ser no solo sistémica, sino también cultural, es decir, está arraigada desde el votante hasta el político, desde la calle hasta el Estado.

Tomando como referencia principal el caso colombiano y apoyándose en evidencia comparativa proveniente de Mozambique, Angola, la República Democrática del Congo y Nigeria, esta revisión argumenta que las propuestas de reforma planteadas en el libro —leyes de transparencia, organismos independientes de auditoría y reformas del servicio civil— presuponen la existencia de bases institucionales y de una demanda ciudadana de rendición de cuentas que simplemente no existen en sociedades donde la violencia política y los intercambios corruptos han constituido la lógica de gobierno durante generaciones.

La reseña concluye señalando tres elementos que una tercera edición debería incorporar: la administración pública conductual, para explicar el voto expresivo a favor de actores corruptos; el retroceso democrático (democratic backsliding) como una variable estructural y no como una barrera exógena; y los mecanismos de rendición de cuentas no estatales como la principal frontera de reforma en Estados capturados o afectados por conflictos.

El libro sigue siendo una obra esencial. Sin embargo, ya no es suficiente.

Descargas

Los datos de descarga aún no están disponibles.

Biografía del autor/a

Niousha Roshani, Green Yield

Ph.D. in Education from University College London, a Master’s in International Development from Cornell University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University focused on public policy for racial equity in Latin America. She is the co-founder of the Content Policy and Society Lab (CPSL) at Stanford University and has been a senior researcher in various global think tanks and academic institutions. She has served as a senior advisor to IDB Invest and has advised governments across Latin America on institutional reform and economic inclusion strategies. She has worked with government officials and journalists across the Global South on electoral transparency and misinformation. She is Managing Partner of Green Yield, an advisory firm focused on the energy transition across Latin America and Africa. She has worked in over 25 countries and is fluent in five languages.

Referencias

Agerberg, M. (2019). Failed expectations: Quality of government and support for populist parties in Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 58(3), 861–881.

Bermeo, N. (2016). On democratic backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 5–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2016.0012

Global Witness. (2023). Angola’s anti-corruption reforms: Selective justice and structural continuity. Global Witness.

Human Rights Watch. (2026). World Report 2026: Colombia. HRW.

Indepaz. (2026). Massacres and political violence monitoring report: January–April 2026. Indepaz.

InSight Crime. (2026). GameChangers 2025: Colombia’s total peace remains in pieces. InSight Crime.

International Crisis Group. (2017). Colombia’s armed groups battle for the spoils of peace. ICG Report No. 63.

James, O., Jilke, S., & Van Ryzin, G. (Eds.). (2017). Experiments in public management research. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316676912

Kerche, F., & Marona, M. (2022). The Lava Jato operation: From anti-corruption to political weaponization. Brazilian Political Science Review, 16(1).

Klašnja, M. (2015). Corruption and the incumbency disadvantage: Theory and evidence. The Journal of Politics, 77(4), 928–942. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/682913

Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2018). How democracies die. Crown.

Misión de Observación Electoral (MOE). (2024). Organized crime changes its strategy in Colombia’s regional elections. MOE / InSight Crime.

Norris, P., & Inglehart, R. (2019). Cultural backlash: Trump, Brexit, and authoritarian populism. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108595841

Oakland Institute. (2025). Shafted: The scramble for critical minerals in the DRC. Oakland Institute.

Olsen, A. L. (2017). Compared to what? How social and historical reference points affect citizens’ performance evaluations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 27(4), 562–580. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mux023

Power, T., & Taylor, M. (Eds.). (2011). Corruption and democracy in Brazil: The struggle for accountability. University of Notre Dame Press.

Ronderos Pulido, N., Cotte Poveda, A., & Martínez Carvajal, J. E. (2020). Corruption and institutions: An analysis for the Colombian case. Heliyon, 6(9). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04874

Rose-Ackerman, S., & Palifka, B. J. (2016). Corruption and government: Causes, consequences, and reform (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139962933

Transparencia por Colombia. (2024). Radiography of corruption in Colombia 2016–2022. Transparencia por Colombia.

UN Group of Experts on the DRC. (2024). Final report S/2024/432. United Nations Security Council.

UN Group of Experts on the DRC. (2025). Midterm report. United Nations Security Council.

Weitz-Shapiro, R. (2014). Curbing clientelism in Argentina: Politics, poverty, and social policy. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139683579