Corruption and control: the what, where and why
The abuse of entrusted power for private gain covers a host of activities. Table I
outlines components of what are commonly accepted as corrupt behaviours. Giving
them a context we lay a base for situational analysis. The essence of SCP is to focus on
the crime event, as opposed to criminality, and as much as is possible break it into
progressively smaller conceptual and operational units. Table I identifies corrupt
behaviours across four dimensions: TASP, thus allowing us to better situate a
corruption event for the purposes of analysis (for example, bribery, in procurement, in
the energy sector, in a locality).
Turning to the causes of corruption, Thomas and Meagher (2004) split the dominant
theories into two broad categories. The first concentrates on “structural” or “societal”
Type Activities Sectors Places
Bribery Appointing personnel Construction Countries
Extortion Buying things (procurement) Health Regions
Misappropriation Delivering programs or services Tax administration Localities
Self-dealing
Patronage
Abuse of discretion
Creating or exploiting
conflict of interest
Nepotism, clientelism
and favouritism, etc.
Making things (construction/
manufacturing)
Rebuilding things
(after a disaster)
Controlling activities (licensing/
regulation/issuing of permits)
Administering ( justice for
example), etc.
Energy
Environment and water
Forestry
Customs and
immigration
Legal system
Disaster relief
Education, etc.
Work places, etc.