This book looks at political corruption in Europe and Latin America from both an historical and a contemporary angle. The approach is therefore comparative and interdisciplinary, bringing together scholars from history, political science, anthropology, sociology and economics. The first section of the book looks at the problem of corruption from a wide historical perspective. This is followed by sections on contemporary corruption in Europe and Latin America.

Questions that are discussed in this volume include: What are the problems for the historian when analysing evidence of corruption? At what point do clientelism and nepotism become corrupt? How has party competition affected the pattern of corruption? How successful have been past efforts at reform? What is the relationship between political culture and corruption?

In addition to general essays, this book includes chapters analysing political corruption in the following countries: Italy, Spain, France, Great Britain, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Paraguay and Mexico.