Do populist governments reduce corruption?

If alleged corruption helps populists get elected, as extant research suggests, do they later address the problem effectively? This study seeks systematic cross-national evidence for the link between populist parties in government and malfeasance by analysing evidence from Eastern Europe. The central argument is that once in power, populist parties fail to eliminate corruption because (i) they also resort to clientelistic practices to secure re-election, and (ii) they weaken the mechanisms of accountability. The results from regression analysis of panel data and qualitative case studies confirm that ruling populist parties have not been successful in fighting corruption mostly because of their deliberate encroaching on state institutions.