Instituttlunsj: Judicial Anticorruption Campaigns as Quests for Judicial Reputation

Why do some countries prosecute political corruption while others do not? The studies of judicial systems seem to place the answer to that question within the realm of the quality of judicial independence and the quality of judicial institutions designed to protect judicial independence. While useful, this answer does not explain why some countries, which share the same or a very similar system of judicial independence or comparable levels of corruption, behave in different ways. Often, it is said that the questions of the political will to tackle corruption is what precludes such developments in these countries, and it is highlighted that, in any event, the prosecution of political corruption does not necessarily lead to lower levels of corruption.