RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Youth Anti‐Corruption Potential: Insights From Germany, Lithuania and Spain
A1 Juknevičienė, Vita
A1 Toleikienė, Rita
A1 Balčiūnas, Sigitas
A1 Leach, Nora
A1 Baumgärtler, Thomas
A1 Antón Maraña, Paula
A1 Díez Hernández, Julieta
K1 Anti-corruption potential
K1 Youth
K1 Corruption perception
K1 Attitudes
K1 Behaviour
K1 Anti-corruption education
K1 Germany
K1 Lithuania
K1 Spain
K1 Corrupción política
K1 Political corruption
K1 Educación cívica
K1 Civics-Study and teaching
K1 Jóvenes-Actividad política
K1 Youth-Political activity
AB Corruption is universally recognised as one of the biggest challenges for modern societies. Its negative impact on economies and institutions, as well as its erosive effect on citizen trust and state stability, pose a significant strain on good governance. Due to its pervasive nature, implementation of anti-corruption policies and education require persistent efforts and dedication. Understandably, young people are identified as the most important cohort within society, which should be well prepared to address all challenges associated with the malpractice. According to the Theory of Planned Behaviour, knowledge must be transformed into perception, followed by the adoption of a suitable attitude, which should then be reflected in future behaviour. As such, it is paramount to ensure that young individuals are able to comprehend the negative impact of corruption, identify the malpractice, and be prepared to inform the relevant authorities when faced with acts of corruption. This set of competences is referred to as anti-corruption potential. It is shaped by the cultural, societal and institutional constraints of the country (region) as well. It consists of three main elements—perception (knowledge), attitude (values) and behaviour. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the current dynamics of youth anti-corruption potential in three European countries—Germany, Lithuania and Spain. For its purposes, a survey was conducted amongst 1,922 young individuals, aged 15–29, who are currently in education. The countries selected represent three main EU regions—Western, Eastern and Central and Southern Europe. The results demonstrate that corruption is universally recognised as an existing challenge. However, Lithuanian and German young people exhibit higher intolerance towards the malpractice, whilst Spanish youth demonstrate the most positive attitude in regard to integrity as a contributing factor to personal success. Moreover, the majority of respondents from all three countries assert that their decision to report suspected or witnessed acts of corruption would be made after a thorough deliberation, taking into account the specific circumstances and the context of the situation. Results further indicate that anti-corruption education programmes should become an indispensable part of the educational process. However, such programmes must be tailored to reflect the cultural specificities of the society and the unique needs of the youth. This research makes a major contribution regarding the anti-corruption potential of young people across diverse European contexts. It further demonstrates how regional and cultural variations shape perceptions, attitudes and behaviour towards corruption. As such, increasing understanding of the social and cultural context in which corruption occurs—both at personal as well as state level—should be considered a priority by policymakers and practitioners.
PB Wiley
SN 2694-6416
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11328
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11328
LA eng
NO This work was supported as a part of the project, funded by the European Union's EUAF program under the grant agreement No 101101627 ‘EUMODNEXT Innovative tools and approaches for improving the prevention of fraud in the context of the Next Generation EU funds’ (EUAF-2022-TRAI), coordinated by University of Burgos (Spain).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 02-jun-2026