Corruption and Anticorruption Measures in the Context of Socio-Political and Ethical Discourse of the Ancient Roman Republic

Abstract

The paper aims to reveal specificity of corruption manifestations and anti-corruption measures in the ancient Roman Republic taking into account ethical and socio-political context. In contemporary studies on Rome’s anticorruption measures, researchers’ attention is focused either on certain anticorruption laws or on the ethical aspect of the problem. Even the most fundamental works tend to differentiate actual measures the Romans used to fight corruption and ethical discourse. Considering the above mentioned, the author, having in mind to reveal the essence of anti-corruption measures implemented in that period, contextuallizes understanding of corruption and moral decay in the context of the ancient Roman socio-political thought, which constitutes scientific originality of the study. The conducted research allows concluding that anti-corruption measures of the late Roman Republic were aimed at restoring the idealized form of government that accepted and supported the republican values.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: July 27, 2020.
• Published: September 30, 2020.

Keywords

• коррупция
• антикоррупционные меры
• моральный упадок
• социально-политический дискурс
• Римская республика
• Древний Рим
• corruption
• anti-corruption measures
• moral decay
• socio-political discourse
• The Roman Republic
• ancient Rome

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