A groundbreaking investigation into Suriname’s governance patterns has traced the roots of contemporary corruption directly to Dutch colonial administration practices. Researcher Nizaar Makdoembaks, in his comprehensive study “Corruption in Suriname,” presents compelling evidence that the nation’s current governance challenges represent an institutional inheritance from its colonial past.
Through exhaustive archival research conducted in both Netherlands and Surinamese repositories, Makdoembaks documents how colonial governance established patterns of misconduct that persist today. The study reveals that from the earliest days of Dutch rule under Governor Van Aerssen van Sommelsdyck through the mid-20th century (1880-1956), colonial administration was characterized by systemic conflicts of interest, double standards, and self-enrichment practices that would have been unacceptable in the Netherlands itself.
The colonial system created an institutional culture where norm violations became routine, with social position determining sanction risks rather than the severity of offenses. Lower-level officials faced severe punishment for minor infractions—sometimes culminating in tragic suicides—while influential figures enjoyed protection and even rewards for significant malfeasance. This established a fundamental inequality in law application that became embedded in Suriname’s governance DNA.
Makdoembaks, a former physician and author of twenty studies on former Dutch colonies, demonstrates how these colonial-era practices created the administrative culture that independent Suriname inherited. While acknowledging that new autonomous forms of corruption emerged post-independence, the research establishes that these cannot be understood separately from their colonial foundations. The book provides detailed documentation of diverse corruption manifestations, showing how colonial governance established patterns of cronyism and misconduct that continue to influence Surinamese politics today.
