Countries emerging from violent conflict must overcome several challenges to achieve long-lasting peace. The literature paints a bleak picture indicating that only few post-conflict countries improve in terms of good governance and the rule of law. Instead, they might experience even more corruption, because state structures are not fully developed while informal networks have flourished during the civil war. Yet, we know surprisingly little about what happens to corruption during conflict. In this study, we examine whether levels of corruption in post-conflict countries are systematically different from pre-war levels. Using data from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project, we find that corruption is relatively stable over time. However, longer and more intense conflicts are associated with higher levels of corruption.

中文翻译：

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生存的政治还是一切照旧？探索武装冲突对腐败的影响

摆脱暴力冲突的国家必须克服若干挑战才能实现持久和平。文献描绘了一幅黯淡的图景，表明只有少数冲突后国家在善治和法治方面有所改善。相反，他们可能会经历更多的腐败，因为在内战期间非正式网络蓬勃发展的同时，国家结构还没有得到充分发展。然而，令人惊讶的是，我们对冲突期间腐败的情况知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们检验了冲突后国家的腐败水平是否与战前水平有系统的不同。使用来自各种民主 (V-Dem) 项目的数据，我们发现腐败随着时间的推移相对稳定。然而，更长时间和更激烈的冲突与更高程度的腐败有关。