No single policy can
control money in politics. For instance, public funding without spending or
contribution limits can lead to a campaign finance arms race. Disclosure
requirements without spending caps or equitable public funding may erode public
trust in the electoral process. It is more effective to use a balanced mix of
regulations fitting each country.
Policies often require
trade-offs between values, such as the importance of freedom of expression vs.
a level playing field for all parties.
Lax regulation can lead to
skyrocketing campaign costs, corruption, cronyism and winner-take-all politics.
Yet excessive regulation can lead to loophole seeking and entrenched elites.
Pippa Norris, Andrea Abel van Es e Lisa Fennis
The role of money in politics challenges states
worldwide, both rich and poor. Its abuse raises problems of graft, corruption
and cronyism, which undermine legitimacy and governance. In recent years,
financial scandals have erupted all over the world. In Britain,
a Conservative Party treasurer offered access to the prime minister for 250,000
pounds. In Germany,
corruption hit during the final years of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In Brazil, high-profile
politicians made clandestine payments in exchange for support. In Australia, members
of the prime minister’s Liberal party stepped down after soliciting illegal
donations. In Chile, recent
corruption allegations rocked the political establishment.
Yet money is essential for mobilizing election
campaigns, sustaining political party organizations, and communicating with
citizens. And countries, such as Sweden, have managed to avoid falling foul of
malfeasance and graft.
So how can politics be cleaned up most
effectively? New evidence on this issue is available from a comparative report
and dataset released by the "Money,
Politics and Transparency project", produced by Global Integrity (GI),the "Sunlight Foundation,
and the Electoral
Integrity Project" (EIP) at Harvard University and the
University of Sydney.
(…)
Para continuar a leitura, acesse http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/07/16/cleaning-up-politics/
