The Nagygate Affair, Corruption and Organized Crime: Corruption Networks and their Potential Impact on the Quality of Democracy in the Czech Republic

Abstract

This paper addresses the influence of organized crime on the performance of democracy in the Czech Republic and seeks to determine which dimensions of its political system (if any) are most endangered. We construe organized crime in terms of corruption networks, questioning in effect the predominant understanding of these two concepts as distinct or even exclusive phenomena. The paper thus construes corruption and organized crime as concepts referring to transgressive acts (i.e., behavior that involves a violation of moral or social boundaries that need not be legally codified), rather than in terms of legal norms. The influence of corruption networks is demonstrated using the “Nagygate” affair, which is analyzed using Maltz’s framework of potential harm. We argue that the debate on organized crime in the Czech Republic is, in fact, inherently tied to the study of corruption, since corruption constitutes an integral part of organized crime activity. Our findings are that transgressive behavior has a mostly negative impact, including loss of trust, the widespread belief that injustice goes unpunished, a weakening of the political system, and degeneration of the democratic regime. Moreover, the Nagygate scandal provides evidence that democratic institutions are not solely victims of organized crime but also a potential source of transgressive acts.

Towards the Principles of Populist Communication? The Topic of Corruption in the Election Manifestos of Czech Political Parties

“…I když se v poslední době objevují 14 Diskurzivní síla a důležitost tématu korupce se tedy ukazují mimo jiné na tom, že již od voleb v roce 1998 téma figurovalo v programech všech stran, které ve volbách uspěly, s několika pouhými výjimkami -těmi je ODS v roce 2013 a 2017 a ČSSD v roce 2017. ODS se po pádu vlády Petra Nečase a aféře "Nagygate" [Kupka, Mochťak 2015] tématu zdržuje zcela. Stejně tak (poněkud překvapivě) ČSSD nevyužila ve volbách v roce 2017 téma korupce v rámci volebního střetu s ANO, se kterým čtyři roky tvořila koalici a které pro ČSSD představovalo největšího soupeře o hlasy [srov.…”

The Never-ending Story: Czech Governments, Corruption and Populist Anti-Corruption Rhetoric (2010–2018)

“…The government was weakened by a series of corruption scandals and its gradual decline culminated in the resignation of the Prime Minister in the summer of 2013. That resignation was itself the result of revelations of borderline and actual corruption that directly implicated the Prime Minister (Kupka -Mochťak 2015). Both the resignation and the events that soon followed would have a crucial influence on the direction of Czech politics.…”

“…In mid -June, a massive political scandal broke out when a number of influential individuals -Nagyová, three former ODS MPs, several intelligence officials and other high -ranking bureaucrats and business figures -were arrested during a police raid. This scandal contained at least three different strands that were all connected to Nagyová (Kupka -Mochťak 2015).…”

“…The misuse of intelligence services by private interests and the conducting of civilian surveillance via security forces are both hallmarks of undemocratic regimes (Svolik 2012). These acts were, thus, clear violations of the principles of democratic governance (Kupka -Mochťak 2015).…”

“…There is extensive research that uses different examples to study the role of anti -corruption rhetoric in elections and the ways perceived corruption is reflected in election results (see, for example, Slomczynski -Shabad 2011). Such work also assesses the abuse of political power for an entity's own corrupt purposes (in the Czech context, see, for example, Kupka -Mochťak 2015). As I have noted, my general framework is based on the research of Sampson (2011), who points out that anti -corruption fighters are themselves sometimes corrupt.…”