A culture of corruption? : coping with government in post-communist Europe /

Any casual visitor to Central Europe knows how pervasive the perception (and probably the reality) of corruption is. This is, then, a very welcome addition to the literature. Its strength is the focus on ordinary citizens and how they cope with bureaucracy at their level--and on the larger issue of consolidating democracy. This is no expose of elite scandal but a close study of citizen encounters in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. An important chapter on ethnic minorities and officials is welcome. In surveying citizens, the authors find a degree of optimism about the culture of politics; things are not so bleak. This volume may be hard going for the average reader because it is based on surveys, focus groups, curvilinear models, and qualitative analysis, but it will be most accessible to advanced social scientists. Still, this rigorous study will benefit many as it shows variation between countries. For graduate and research libraries. H. Steck SUNY College at Cortland