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  • Ludmiła Stemplewska
    CORRUPTION IN BUSINESS - PROS AND CONS
    JEL: M2, O3, O5
    Keywords: corruption, business, private sector
    Summary: Corruption has been a subject to social construction and reconstruction for a long time. The social dimension of corruption means that this is a phenomenon whose meaning, positive or negative values are determined by people. Corruption changes, since it was already a subject to changes in the past. Therefore, if we currently believe that negative effects of corruption is something right and promotes the stability of society, then it is not enough to refer to research, analyses or descriptions of the phenomenon. Even if in certain situations society is forced to offer bribes, lead anti-corruption policy or take specific actions, we have to make moral choices all the time and prove to ourselves that this activity is undesirable, especially in the developed countries. The aim of this article is to analyze and assess the issue of corruption, including topics such as: emergence of corruption, effects of corruption, reducing the level of corruption, Poland against the background of corruption and the correlative analysis of corruption in the world.
  • Rumen Vyrbanov
    THE USE OF THE INTERNET TO SUPPORT AND DEVELOP DEMOCRACY
    JEL: H83, O3, H7, H11
    Keywords: e-democracy, e-governance, e-services, e-government, information society, social media, information and communication technologies, digital divide
    Summary: The realization of the idea of e-democracy is an important part of the information society, the establishment of which is a priority for the EU. The article analyses some of the aspects of e-democracy and their importance for strengthening democracy, democratic institutions and democratic processes. Its primary objective is to determine the conditions for implementing of the idea of e-democracy in Bulgaria by defining the key problems related to e-democracy and the causes thereof. A large amount of data was subjected to comparative analysis to determine the current status of the information society, e-government and e-ser-vices in Bulgaria and in other European Union countries. The author has put emphasis on the essential role of social media in the process of implementation of various forms of electronic democracy. The author's main thesis is that information and communication tech-nologies (ICT) are a prerequisite and a very important factor for the develop-ment of e-democracy. However, the use of the Internet in various forms of democratic life depends heavily on the degree of the e-readiness of the country, its efficient e-government and e-services, the sustained interest of its citizens in participating in its governance and their requirements for transparency and free access to information, its government and civil organizations, the adequacy of its legislation, the level of development of its civil society and its drive for continuous strengthening and development of democratic institu-tions.