Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1
Assistant Professor, Sociology Department, the research institute o Imam Khomeini and Islamic Revolution,Thran,Iran
2
Ph.D. Student at the Imam Khomeini and Islamic Revolution Research Institute
3
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology of Revolution, Imam Khomeini and Islamic Revolution Research Institute, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/jisr.2026.408924.1702
Abstract
This study aims to conduct a comparative examination of the causes of corruption in five countries: Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan. The central research question is: Why, despite shared characteristics, is the level of corruption in Iran and Turkey significantly higher than in the other three countries?
To address this question, the historical comparative method and Mill’s method of difference were employed. Eight causal constructs were analyzed, namely: institutional quality, government accountability and transparency, rule of law, natural resource rent, concentration of political power, state intervention in the economy, social capital, and political culture.
The findings indicate that among the aforementioned causes, only the variable of institutional quality exhibits a presence–absence pattern consistent with the logic of Mill’s method of difference. Specifically, institutional weakness is systematically observed in countries with high levels of corruption (Iran and Turkey), whereas countries with lower levels of corruption (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan) possess relatively more efficient and cohesive governance institutions.
The results emphasize that other factors alone cannot explain the variation in corruption levels among the studied countries, since these factors exist in both groups. However, strong and effective institutions can contain the risk of corruption even in the presence of those other causes. Consequently, combating corruption in high-corruption countries requires deep institutional reforms, and improving the quality of governance institutions is a necessary condition for breaking the vicious cycle of corruption. Corruption has an institutional root, and sustainable reforms are possible through increasing the institutional capacity of the state. .
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