Corruption as a means of diplomacy — yet there is another Cyprus

Author: Geadis Geadi

The article was hosted on:

- Alphanews.live - Reporter

- Sigmalive

- Simerini newspaper

Cyprus has once again found itself in the eye of the storm, as a result of new scandals that have recently come to light. The so-called Cyprus Papers, revealed by the Qatari satellite television channel, Al Jazeera, have shaken society to its core, since for the first time we have had audiovisual material that clearly demonstrates the extent of corruption.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Cypriot society has witnessed scandals as a result of corruption. For example, let us recall the Cooperatives, the haircut of deposits with the simultaneous flight of capital from foreign banks, Focus with the underground financing of parties and many others, which have resulted in findings with guilty parties, but without punishments.

The reason for this article, in addition to the aforementioned revelations, was given to me by a paper by Dr. Sotiriou K. Bellou, “Corruption as a Tool for Foreign Policy”, which is also my main source.

Definition

In general, corruption is the abuse of delegated power for personal gain[1], while it is the “second oldest profession”[2]. According to Transparency International, corruption is generally understood to mean anything that covers the abuse of the position held by someone, mainly within the public administration or the relations they maintain with it, with the aim of securing unjustified benefits for themselves or for a third party.

Grand corruption encompasses transactions between senior levels of national and local government, top political party officials, elected officials and private sector interests. Petty corruption occurs in the context of interactions between lower levels of public administration and individual citizens[3].

It must be acknowledged that there are differences in the severity of the forms of corruption encountered[4]: - Petty corruption involves civil servants at the lower and middle levels of the hierarchy[5]. - Grand Corruption involves acts committed at higher levels that circumvent or distort national or political processes or the central functioning of a state, allowing high-ranking officials to enjoy personal benefits at the expense of the public interest[6]. - Political Corruption, which is the manipulation of political figures and targets specific institutional and procedural rules. These political figures illegally use privileges and power that stem from their position to further maintain their power and increase their wealth[7].

In addition, it is worth mentioning that a special form of grand corruption is “State Capture”, which is the attempt by businesses or third parties to shape laws by providing illegal private payments to public officials[8].

Diplomacy & Corruption

The main driver and driving force in international relations is the National Interest, which is determined exclusively by power, as Morgenthau, who belongs to the Thucydides tradition of international relations analysis, founder of political realism, rightly states.

Also, as Edward Carr [9] aptly points out, among the available tools of international relations and perhaps one of the most important, is the use of economic instruments, since they constitute one of the main factors that determine the power of a state. These tools could be divided into two categories: 1) the provision of assistance for economic development 2) the reduction of the national power of other states, mainly rival states, which is achieved through economic warfare. That is, through sanctions, restrictions, exclusion from international actions, and so on.

The second category, however, could be divided into two more subcategories, a) legal methods and b) illegal ones.

More generally, reducing the political/economic power of another state without resorting to violent means of coercion is a supreme achievement, fully consistent with what Sun Tzu said in his monumental work The Art of War, “The greatest art in war is to subdue the enemy without a fight.”

The illegal method adopted in international relations is corruption. After all, Hans Morgenthau states that the diplomat has three tools at his disposal[10]: - logic - bribes - threats

In an anarchic international system, the power of a state[11] and its maximization play a decisive role, since it is the only way to guarantee its survival.

In this anarchic context of the international scene, in which there are clearly no moral values ​​that are identical with the moral laws that govern the universe[12], the belief arises that the use of corruption as a tool is something normal, realistic and applicable. Because in this way, on the one hand, the reduction of the power of competitors is achieved, on the other hand, the increase of the power of the one who uses it to fulfill his goals[13]. Hence, corruption does not aim at financial gain, on the contrary, it sacrifices financial resources to gain influence in another country, to hold it hostage, to exert illegal influence, to cultivate insecurity and instability, as well as to undermine institutions[14].

How much more so, when corruption, in addition to reducing the national power of the host country, also achieves an increase in the power of the country that directs it, making it an extremely important and effective offensive tool.

“The Curse of Natural Resources”

The phenomenon of the “Dutch Disease” or otherwise the “curse of natural resources” belongs to a large extent within the context of the relationship between corruption and international relations.

Therefore, the existence or discovery of strategic resources (Natural Gas - Oil) is an important incentive for their claim and their seizure by powerful foreign powers, within the framework of Mearsheimer’s offensive realism[15].

As these resources can significantly strengthen the competitive forces that will “claim” them first, with serious consequences in the merciless struggle for supremacy, it is understandable that the means used to acquire them could not be limited only to what is characterized as moral and legal[16]. Concepts such as morality are at best secondary, if not completely disappear, since all states engage in a merciless hunt for power at the expense of other states, since power, as we mentioned above, is the only guarantee of survival[17].

Turkey, Cyprus and the revelations

Keeping in mind the revelations, as well as what the German Professor of Political Science, Hubert Faustmann, stated, that, according to Al Jazeera’s information so far, there are two more documentaries on the same subject that have not yet been publicly shown, fears and concerns spontaneously arise in my thoughts, which I cannot help but express.

Turkey, based on relevant publications[18], appears to have established for many years an effective mechanism of influence through bribes of high-ranking officials in a number of powerful countries, but also in countries in our region, in order to promote, in the best possible way, its plans and interests[19].

If we consider the facts as they are, namely that there are rich deposits in the Cypriot EEZ, the geostrategic position of Cyprus, as well as the fact that impunity is deeply rooted in the structures of the Cypriot state, creating the right environment for corruption to grow and become established in our homeland, one can easily understand that Cyprus is in direct danger of such action by Turkey, which we must remember is a close ally and friendly neighboring country of Qatar[20].

It is something that should be of particular concern to us, especially when there are findings, without exemplary punishments for the guilty, but to clarify, I do not want to let it be understood for any reason that Turkey is hiding behind the corruption and scandals, while the old party system of our homeland is blameless.

Epilogue

For the tragic events that took place on our receivers, where for a few millions, some were ready to sell out the reputation of Cyprus by saying that “This is Cyprus”, the best answer comes by looking back a few years into the past, when EOKA fighter Kyriakos Matsis replied to the British governor, Harting, who tried to buy him off: “We are not fighting for money, but for virtue…”.

For us few, the romantics, this is Cyprus…

Geadis Geadi Spokesperson of the National Popular Front (E.L.A.M.)

References: [1] The Law Dictionary, “What is CORRUPTION? definition of CORRUPTION (Black's Law Dictionary)”. https://thelawdictionary.org/corruption/ Retrieved on 22 November 2020 [2] Günther Kaiser, 2015, Corruption and its treatment, Science and Society [3] European Commission, Thematic Newsletter of the European Semester “Fighting Corruption”, Retrieved on 13 November 2020 [4] Günther Kaiser, 2015, Corruption and its treatment, Science and Society [5] Bellos S., 2020, Corruption as a tool for exercising foreign policy, Foreign Affairs Hellenic Edition [6] Ibid. [7] Ibid. [8] Hellman J.S., Jones G., Kaufmann D., 2003, Seize the State, Seize the Date: State Capture and influence in transition economies [9] Edwar C., 1939, The twenty years Crisis 1919-1939. An introduction to the study of international relations [10] Maynes. C., 1965, Logic, Bribes and Threats, Foreign Policy [11] Geadi G., 2017, Energy planning based on national and not economic interests, Ef. Simerini [12] Morgenthau H, 1962, The intellectual and moral dilemma of politics [13] Bellos S., 2020, Corruption as a tool for foreign policy, Foreign Affairs Hellenic Edition [14] Ibid. [15] Mearsheimer J., 2001, The tragedy of Great Power Politics [16] Bellos S., 2020, Corruption as a tool for foreign policy, Foreign Affairs Hellenic Edition [17] Ibid. [18] Giraldi P., 2009, Who’s Afraid Of Sibel Edmonds?, The American Conservative, https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/whos-afraid-of-sibel-edmonds/ [19] Bellos S., 2020, Corruption as a tool for foreign policy, Foreign Affairs Hellenic Edition [20] Geadi G., 2017, Energy planning based on national rather than economic interests, Simerini Press