The Eroding Effect of Corruption on System Support in Sweden

S weden is consistently found at the top in international indices of corruption. In recent years, however, several instances of corruption have been exposed, and surveys show that large shares of S wedish citizens harbor perceptions that public corruption is widespread. Drawing on recent surveys, two questions are asked. First, to what extent do S wedish citizens believe that corruption constitutes a serious problem? Second, how do citizens' evaluations of the extent of public corruption affect support for the democratic system? Approaching the issue from a comparative N ordic perspective, the data indicate that S wedes are considerably more prone to believe that politicians and public officials are corrupt than their N ordic counterparts. The analysis also suggests that such perceptions constitute an important determinant of support for the democratic system. Thus, even in a least likely case of corruption, such as S weden, growing concerns about corruption has a potential to affect democratic legitimacy negatively.