Modernization And Anti-corruption

In 1945,when the formidable Second World War came to an end,many Asian,Latin American and African countries were left reeling in acute poverty and under-development.Most Western countries,particularly the United States,were worried that this would give rise to not only more destitution and human suffering but to the spread of Communism among these underdeveloped countries as well-an action which most likely would have been detrimental to the business interests and ultimately the power of the United States in the international community.Scholars and experts then suggested that in order for these underdeveloped countries to catch up with the developed world without resorting to Communism,they needed to follow the same steps of development that Western nations followed to achieve develop hence the inception of the theory of Modernization.As soon as this theory was introduced,it received a myriad of rigorous criticisms from some scholars,particularly Dependency theorists.They claimed among other things that it increases the rate of corruption.Despite these criticisms,the theory of Modernization persisted and spread throughout the world.Now,some seventy years later,it is time to analyze whether or not this theory has been successful as well as the role it plays in the fight against corruption.Grounded on a qualitative data collection and evaluation system,this thesis will analyze the relationship between the Modernization theory and Anti-Corruption as well as assess the direction of causality between the two.It will conclude by recommending ways which can promote development and Anti-Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa.The Republic of South Africa is used as a case study in this research.The reason for this being that it is the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa that has reached advanced stages of development.The education level,living standard,life span,Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Income of the country has increased remarkably ever since it gained independence while the corruption rate has gone down.In fact,according to the results of the latest Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index,South Africa is one of the least corrupt countries in all of Africa.The author's stance is that,contrary to popular belief amongst Dependency theorists,Modernization reduces the spread of corruption.Although there appears to be a peak in corruption at some stages of development,corruption usually falls down after the process is complete.The author also asserts that the direction of causality between the two is interlocked,for Modernization to be successful,there has to be effective Anti-Corruption measures in place.Likewise,for AntiCorruption to be successful,Modernization has to be present.