Corruption, anti-corruption and human rights: the case of Poland’s integrity system

Abstract

Serious tensions can arise in a country’s integrity system when anti-corruption policy also poses a threat to fundamental values and standards under which a democratic state operates, in particular human and civil rights. This article examines these tensions using the case of Poland, where the risk arises, in particular, in situations of ‘moral panic’, where intense public and political discourse around a specific issue with a strong sense of threat to society also generates expectations that policy and decision makers will quickly solve the problem. With the Polish National Integrity System (NIS) assessment as a background, we examine the need and the scope for developing research and evaluation instruments which help reduce the risk that anti-corruption initiatives will undermine the basis of a democratic state, with recommendations in this regard.