What is Corruption? Part 3: Culture, Country and Grey areas.

The final part of this intro to corruption will take a quick look at how corruption might differ or be contested by country, culture or situation. If corruption is the abuse of power for illicit gain, then surely that would apply anywhere, bad is bad, right? Wrong is wrong, right? It's not quite that simple, as we have seen so far, corruption is a complex and nuanced subject.

img: Antoine Schibler

Let's have a look at a few examples of grey areas in which corruption might not be as clear cut as it initially appears.

Scenario 1

What if, the only way you can get to see a doctor is by paying a bribe? What if, the doctor isn't being paid a decent living wage and needs the money. Here we have an example of not only the grey area in which corruption might not be quite what it seems, but where a bribe isn't just a bribe. The doctor is abusing his position for illicit gain, but the gain isn't greedy or selfish as we might expect from a corrupt act. It's a necessity, and a reflection of an overall unjust and broken system in which everyone is struggling. Is this a bribe then? Technically, but not actually...you can see why defining corruption becomes difficult.

Scenario 2

You're travelling and you are prompted to pay a bribe to a customs agent to allow expedited entry, you do it. Later, you tell your family about it, "it's just the way things work around here." That kind of act is sometimes known as a grease or speed payment, it's the norm in some industries/countries. It's business as usual, if everyone is paying the same amount, then it's just like a fee or tax. The customs agents are probably doing well from this arrangement, right? They might make a fair bit of extra money, right? But what if, in this corrupt system, their bosses are expecting a substantial cut from the agents. All of a sudden it's not as it initially seemed. The agents might get very little, especially if their boss has to share the take with those above him. The system is rotten, and nobody at the bottom is doing particularly well out of it. They are the face of a corrupt system, scapegoats, and again, that system might not be as simple as it appears.

Scenario 3

Company A is expanding and wants to trade with company X in a distant country, they hire a local consultant to help them navigate this new environment and the negotiations. The consultant states that the owners of the company X will be expecting 'gifts' as it is the custom of the country. This sounds a little odd to the owners of company A but they go with it, if that's how things are done, let's get it done. This might be seen as a bribe to secure the deal, but if every business does it, are they abusing their power for illicit gain, it is after all a level playing field, isn't it? Maybe, until it's a tender being offered by company X, and company A is amongst a crowd trying to get that deal, it's at this point that the 'best gift' wins the deal.

As you can see, there are often a number of variables to consider when looking at what corruption is. The above examples also contribute to the definitional debate, and justify our continued repetition of how corruption can be complex and nuanced. We have variances in cultural approaches and acceptance of corrupt activity depending on local norms and social circumstance. This makes a uniform definition difficult and a uniform approach to ending corrupt activity near impossible. But a divide and conquer, multi-pronged approach can be successful. We will look at some these in more detail in the near future.

Yours Ambivalently,

Rotten&Co.