Peculiarities of Corruption in Ukraine

In the article, we aimed to answer the question: what are the peculiarities of corruption in Ukraine? This is a difficult task that cannot be solved within the framework of one article, especially since the problem of corruption is quite widely represented in numerous theoretical and empirical studies. Both theoretical concepts and models, as well as the results of the analysis of the experience of individual countries and groups of countries, have a significant benefit for generalizing ideas about the factors of corruption and ways to reduce it, creating the basis for the development of an effective policy to combat it. The difficulty is that each country has significant differences in the scale, structure, and forms of corruption. This is generally determined by such factors as: the trajectory of the country's development, the size of the economy, the state of the institutional environment, the nature of the political system, cultural and historical experience, etc. The characteristics of corruption in the general and national contexts showed a broad specification of the participants in corrupt actions, which reflects the multidimensional nature of corruption. Its concealment due to the threat of punishment, as well as the permanent development of its schemes and mechanisms, is presented in the typology of corruption. Even though the Index of Corruption Perceptions in Ukraine shows positive dynamics, the country lags behind its neighbors: Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova, and among the countries that are candidates for EU membership, it is in 6-7 place. It is shown that the level of corruption in Ukraine significantly depends on the GNI per capita and the level of civil liberties, while it is not affected by the degree of human development and government efficiency. The role of local elites, which caused the formation of destructive corrupt social networks over a long period of time, should also be attributed to the national characteristics of corruption. This problem has not yet been adequately reflected in the scientific literature. Supplementing the conceptual model of corruption with components related to counteraction factors: the severity of punishments and public condemnation, and their analysis showed that the punishment of corruption in the country is weakened, and in the social environment there is a paradox of tolerance, when the denial of corruption is accompanied by participation in corrupt actions.