TY - JOUR AB - According to the European Security Strategy, Europe has never been so prosperous, so secure, nor so free. The progressive spread of the rule of law and democracy has seen authoritarian regimes change into secure, stable and dynamic democracies. Yet, as large-scale aggression against any Member State is now improbable, Europe faces new threats which are more diverse, less visible and less predictable: terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, WMD, regional conflicts, state failure, and organized crime. In this article the author argues that corruption is directly related to these threats and, thus, has to be taken as a key parameter in a holistic notion of security. It is stressed that corruption is foremost a cultural, socio-endogenous phenomenon that is conceptually and phenomenologically broader than the frameworks offered by the concepts of ‘crime’. He argues that corruptive exchanges are commonly but wrongly described as bilateral relationships, as simple agent-client affiliations. Yet, the constellation is normally of a trilateral nature (at least) and it is also of a most “victimo-generic” character at all levels, micro- as well as macro-sociologically. In continuing, the author delineates potential relationships between various social, economic, and political key indices, as the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index, the Failed States Index, and the Freedom House Indices on political and civil rights. By correlating the three indices he exhibits a strong positive relationship between the tendency to state failure and corruption, and a clear negative correlation between political/civil rights and corruption. He discusses the relevance of these findings to the concept of social order and security and concludes by stating that corruption, consequently, has to be seen as a key factor in the comprehensive notion of security. The author’s argumentation is augmented by various tables and diagrams. AU - Kreutner, Martin DO - 10.7396/2007_4_C ET - 3/2013 KW - European Security Strategy threats corruption crime state failure political rights civil rights indicators L1 - http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_SIAK/4/2/1/2007/ausgabe_4/files/Kreutner_4_2007.pdf LA - eng IS - 4 PY - 2007 SN - 1813-3495 SP - 20-31 ST - Corruption and the Notion of Security. Towards a Holistic Approach T2 - SIAK-Journal − Zeitschrift für Polizeiwissenschaft und polizeiliche Praxis TI - Corruption and the Notion of Security. Towards a Holistic Approach UR - http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_SIAK/4/2/1/2007/ausgabe_4/files/Kreutner_4_2007.pdf VL - 4 ID - 303 ER -