Towards a Europeanization of the resistance and fight against corruption? The case of Spain

Abstract

Analyses offered in this volume mainly focus on resistance to corruption within the confines of a particular political system, be it a state or its components. But can resistance to corruption be propelled by international bodies that thereby become hubs of the dynamic of forging ever more intensive links that would bind the participants together? We try to explain why a series of institutional reforms linked to the prevention of corruption, have taken place as a matter of urgency in Europe. We will proceed to explain that they are the result of a coercive isomorphism (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), derived from the EU control of the Next Generation funds and that they express an abrupt change, which has opened a window of opportunity for the processes of socialization and Europeanization of corruption prevention policies in Spain. This hypothesis will require a clarification of the applicable theories of institutional change as well as some concepts of socialization and Europeanization. The description and analysis of the implementation of the reforms will be another essential objective of the article. For this purpose, three micro-cases have been chosen that try to provide information on the organizational and regulatory changes in ministries essential for the management of NGEU funds. Finally, we will try to cover the critical analysis of the process, describe the role of the key actors and the structural errors arising from the way this reform was approached. In the conclusions, the limitations of this study for future research will be presented.