Bribery in Higher Education in Former Soviet Countries: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Corruption, such as bribery, exists in varying degrees in many countries around the globe. In some of them, it has become systemic due to a large proportion of the population engaging in it and accepting it as the normal way of solving daily issues. In some countries (e.g., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine), it is widely perceived by the general public as one of the biggest problems in education.
This research examines the existing scholarly literature on bribery, the most visible type of corruption, in the former Soviet Socialist Republics’ higher education space, focusing on social and economic reasons and common manifestations, and illuminating possible solutions that may curb the phenomenon. Those republics – also known as post-Soviet countries – are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan (Edele, 2018). Most of these countries are mentioned frequently in the existing literature pertaining to higher education corruption. By reviewing 19 empirical studies from the existing literature, this qualitative study employs systematic literature review as the method of data collection. To explain the roots of the issue and the consequent challenges of the solution, this study draws upon collective action theory by Mancur Olson (1965). Collective action theory concerns certain societal issues being collective ones and requiring collective action to be solved. The exhaustive literature review has revealed that in most of the post-Soviet states, a majority of the people involved in higher education sector find a way to justify their illicit conducts, which is why the reduction of the extent of higher education bribery might be much more complicated than policies dictate it to be.