ABSTRACT
The government of the modern nation-state is largely defined and delimited by procedures—what it is empowered to do, how these powers are to be exercised, and, as important, what it is not allowed to do. The procedures and their limitations are normally set out in a constitution and specifically, with details peculiar to particular applications, in the statute laws of the nation-state and in the record of judicial review by its judiciary. Corruption is virtually an alternative form of governance, alternative to the rule of law and the mandates of the democratic process, providing decisions by sale rather than by rule. There are three western legal traditions—civil law, common law, and socialist law—each of which is primarily secular. Transparency of government actions and expenditures in records and as measured by economic, financial, and social data along with the strict compliance with procedure, review, assurance of the security of the judiciary, and the adequate compensation of civil servants.
