Corruption Regulation

Improved Essays
In most cases, countries implement regulations on lobbying only in response to public outcry over a recent scandal. In the United States, national lobbying regulations were passed through congress and implemented as early as 1933, and the first widespread act to cover all groups was passed in 1995. Even prior to this regulation, most states had their own regulations starting in the 19th century. Since 1995, the legislature has made many changes to the existing rules, creating a complex web of regulation. Yet according to a list published annually by Transparency International, even with the amount of legislation governing lobbying in the United States, it is ranked surprisingly low in the rankings of countries with the lowest corruption levels …show more content…
In a survey of Danish Members of Parliament, most stated that there was no need for regulations due to the minimal amount of lobbying that occurred in their jurisdiction. Furthermore, these Members of Parliament believe that due to the small amount of lobbyists, they were able to sufficiently keep track of whom they see and why they were seeing them. Denmark’s lack of even minimal regulations on lobbyists are due to a lack of necessity. Perhaps the only thing implementing regulations would do for Denmark, even just a minimal registry that has been proposed, is create unnecessary Bureaucracy. As a nation that ranks high in international transparency ratings, a set of lobbying regulations would be overkill, and inevitably lead to an increase in confusing bureaucracy. Implementing any regulations, even something as small as a registry, would create unnecessary inefficiencies within the Danish …show more content…
In his article, Regulation of Lobbyists in Scandinavia- A Danish Perspective, Political Scientist Rene E. Rechtman describes the history of lobbying regulations, or rather lack thereof, in Denmark and Sweden. “The unwritten rules draw attention to the crucial importance of political culture. For instance, it would be regarded as an insult if an interest group attempted to bribe an MP, but there are no regulations that prohibit the receipt of gifts.” Although Danish Members of Parliament are not restricted from using their position of power for their own personal gains, and bribery is not actually regulated by any law, the strict normative practices respected and perfected over decades of Danish politics are enough to stop any Members of Parliament from committing any of these crimes. Government officials are quick to support these norms as well. Minister of Trade and Investment Pia Dyher is a strong supporter of Denmark’s non-legislative honor code. “In Denmark we have a society based on trust. We trust each other and we trust the public institutions that surround and support us.” This unique substitute to government regulation may seem unfeasible, but it is part of the reason that Denmark is rated number one for the least corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International. Denmark’s

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