The impact of corruption on political participation and democratization in Somalia: The case of selected public and private employees in Mogadishu

This dissertation examines the impact of corruption on political participation and democratization in Somalia. First, the study briefly discusses the historical and theoretical aspects of corruption, democratization, and political participation. The study develops a conceptual framework from the existing literature that explains how various types of political corruption influences political participation and democratization. Furthermore, this study employs the concurrent mixed methods design, in which qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously and analyzed independently and merged. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 18 participants, while quantitative data were collected through questionnaires completed by 191 respondents. The quantitative analysis indicates that logrolling and embezzlement have a statistically significant negative effect on democratization. Notably, logrolling has significantly adversely affected political participation in Somalia. Qualitative data analysis findings suggested that electoral process vote-buying undermines holistic political participation. At the same time, those with little or no money have minimal opportunities to participate in political activities as they will be locked out of the process. That ultimately undermines the achievement of full democracy. Additionally, the prevailing view among respondents was that political elites are trying to remain in power by embezzling and preventing the electoral participation of those who have the competence to advance Somalia's democratization process. Regarding qualitative outcomes, abolishing clan-based federalism and adopting procedural democracy would allow citizens to participate equally in the political process, reduce electoral corruption, and promote successful democratization in Somalia. Overall, the consolidated data reflect convergences and differences between the qualitative and quantitative data. Keywords: Corruption, political participation, democratization, Somali