The Europeanization of Anti-Corruption Policy: The Case of Spain

Abstract

We studied Europeanization of anti-corruption policy in Spain, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, using the process tracing method and drawing on theories of policy transfer and policy change. Two Europeanization processes are underway. One is linked to the strategy of coordination and learning, characterized by its multi-level nature and incrementalism. The other is related to crisis processes, which are indirectly coercive and statecentric. What characterizes the Spanish model is that the two processes of Europeanization took place simultaneously in the same policy subsystem, with two different images and strategies, one for national budgets and European cohesion funds and the other for Recovery and Resilience Facility funds. The implications of this duality provide interesting theoretical and practical conclusions.