Corruption in Transition Countries: “How to Capture a State” – The Example of Montenegro
Corruption in Transition Countries: “How to Capture a State” – The Example of Montenegro

Summary/Abstract: State capture is a special form of corruption, which is a new issue in the academic discussion about corruption. The concept of state capture was developed within the analysis of transition in Eastern Europe. The authors of state capture Hellman, Jones and Kaufmann focus on the question to what degree private actors especially private firms could influence the transition process for their own purpose (Hellman, Jones, Kaufmann 2000; Hellman, Kaufmann 2001). Analysing the situation in Montenegro, one entity of the state-union “Serbia and Montenegro”, will discover the connection of state capture and transition. One additional item, which is not analysed by the founders of the concept of state capture, is the effect of sanctions. It could be stressed that sanctions might actually have the strongest impact on the development of state capture. Montenegro as part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was subject to sanctions from the EU, the Council of Europe and the UN. Because of that, it is interesting to consider to what extent the phenomenon of “state capture” is the reason of organised crime, slow transition process or the weak political system in Montenegro.

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