What does this research mean for the field?

Legal harmonization within the European Union fails to ensure uniform anti-corruption governance, as formal compliance conceals deep regional disparities in institutional integrity and administrative capacity. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To assess why European Union legal harmonization fails to produce uniform anti-corruption outcomes across diverse subnational regions.

September 2, 2026Regulation & GovernanceOpen Access

Corruption and Uneven Development: Why Anti‐Corruption Fails in the EU 's Most Vulnerable Regions

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Authors

IKIna Kubbe SPStoyan Panov WNWisnu Setiadi Nugroho

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Overview

Mixed-methods analysis demonstrates subnational anti-corruption failures under unified legal standards in Bulgaria, highlighting how formal legal convergence conceals regional enforcement gaps.

Key Points

To assess why European Union legal harmonization fails to produce uniform anti-corruption outcomes across diverse subnational regions.
Developed the Regional Integrity Framework (RIF), incorporating citizen perceptions, public procurement indicators, and institutional enforcement activation measures.
Applied a mixed-methods approach combining panel data analysis with a comparative case study of Sofia and Vidin, Bulgaria.
Demonstrated that formal legal convergence masks functional governance divergence across peripheral territories.
Identified that subnational integrity gaps stem primarily from weaker administrative capacity, constrained oversight, and uneven institutional enforcement.

Cite This Study

Kubbe et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e2b1c562ede874ec6f14 https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.70199

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September 2, 2026Regulation & GovernanceOpen Access

Corruption and Uneven Development: Why Anti‐Corruption Fails in the EU 's Most Vulnerable Regions

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

IKIna Kubbe SPStoyan Panov WNWisnu Setiadi Nugroho

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Mixed-methods analysis demonstrates subnational anti-corruption failures under unified legal standards in Bulgaria, highlighting how formal legal convergence conceals regional enforcement gaps.

Key Points

To assess why European Union legal harmonization fails to produce uniform anti-corruption outcomes across diverse subnational regions.
Developed the Regional Integrity Framework (RIF), incorporating citizen perceptions, public procurement indicators, and institutional enforcement activation measures.
Applied a mixed-methods approach combining panel data analysis with a comparative case study of Sofia and Vidin, Bulgaria.
Demonstrated that formal legal convergence masks functional governance divergence across peripheral territories.
Identified that subnational integrity gaps stem primarily from weaker administrative capacity, constrained oversight, and uneven institutional enforcement.

Cite This Study

Kubbe et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e2b1c562ede874ec6f14 https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.70199

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