ABSTRACT
There was a widespread euphoria in the 1990s, in Uzbekistan and the outside world, that the introduction of Western-style political institutions and legal system would promote democratic governance in post-Soviet Uzbekistan. However, many commentators now argue that Uzbekistan has made little progress in promoting the rule of law and good governance, and that many formal institutions of government have achieved merely a showcase quality. One of the main problems in this regard is corruption. According to the 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, released annually by Transparency International, Uzbekistan is among the 10 most corrupt countries in the world (TI, 2011). Also, the control of corruption indicator of the World Bank Governance Studies shows an extremely high level of corruption in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries (Libman, 2008).
