External pressure is needed to help Italy tackle its persistent corruption problem

Corruption has been a persistent problem in Italy, with the country receiving one of the lowest scores of EU member states in Transparency International’s latest ‘Corruption Perceptions Index’. Andrea Lorenzo Capussela and Vito Intini provide a comprehensive look at the problem, noting that on several measures corruption has increased since the late 1990s. They argue that corruption in Italy represents a ‘resilient equilibrium’, whereby the political system provides little incentive for parties to tackle the problem. They suggest that external pressure from other countries in the EU may offer one route to breaking this cycle.