ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. Peace and Democracy
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpos.2025.1575693
This article is part of the Research TopicNon-Western Democracies – Theories, Conceptual Analyses, Case StudiesView all 7 articles
Corruption risk as a Structural Driver of State Fragility: Examining the Governance Crisis in
Provisionally accepted
- 1Faculty of Education, North West University, Potchefstroom, North West, South Africa
- 2University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
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Corruption has long been recognized as a significant governance challenge, but its role in perpetuating state fragility remains insufficiently explored in political science literature. This study critically examines the systemic nature of corruption in South Africa, arguing that corruption is not merely an ethical or administrative failure but a structural disorder that actively undermines institutional resilience, economic development, and political stability. By employing a thematic content analysis, this research identifies key areas where corruption exacerbates governance fragility: institutional weakening and bureaucratic dysfunction, economic stagnation and developmental failure, erosion of public trust and legitimacy, and the corruption-fragility cycle. Drawing from empirical evidence and governance risk frameworks, the study demonstrates how corruption sustains a self-reinforcing cycle that hinders meaningful reforms and deepens state vulnerability. The findings underscore the urgent need for holistic anti-corruption strategies that go beyond punitive measures and instead focus on strengthening institutional integrity, economic diversification, and public accountability mechanisms. This research contributes to the broader discourse on governance and state resilience by situating corruption as a central determinant of political and economic instability in fragile states.
Keywords: systemic corruption risk, South Africa, fragile state, Public sector risk management, Corruption
Received: 12 Feb 2025; Accepted: 05 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mkhize and Nel-Sanders. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nkosingiphile Mkhize, Faculty of Education, North West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, North West, South Africa
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