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Abstract
Corruption is a major problem for populations in various parts of the world. This article argues that to understand the problems and dynamics of corruption, we need to understand how discourses and practices of corruption (and anti-corruption efforts) are intertwined with the construction and contestations of identity. Identity politics is a salient feature in peaceful political struggles, as well as in contemporary armed conflicts, which are often characterised by the politicisation of collective identity (ethnic, national, religious) for the violent pursuit of power. The article outlines and discusses four ways in which identity politics and corruption intersect. First, it points to the often blurred lines between private and collective benefit from corruption, revealing the implications of group identity for how corruption is conceptualised. Second, it shows how corruption may exacerbate grievances along identity lines. Third, it highlights how corruption can be used strategically in identity-based conflicts. Finally, it explores how corruption may encourage cross-ethnic solidarity and mobilisation that defy conflict divides.
Acknowledgements
Research funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) is gratefully acknowledged.
Notes
1. Smith, A Culture of Corruption, xii.
2. Uvin, “Corruption and Violence in Burundi,” 19.
3. Githongo, “Inequality, Ethnicity and the Fight against Corruption,” 21.
4. See Le Billon, “Corrupting Peace?” 62; Gordon et al., Corruption and its Discontents; and Smith, A Culture of Corruption.
5. See Rothstein, Quality of Government; and Olivier de Sardan, “A Moral Economy of Corruption?”
6. Castells, The Power of Identity, xvii.
7. Kaldor, New and Old Wars; and Mello, “In Search of New Wars.”
8. See Kaldor, New and Old Wars, 7.
9. Mobilisation also requires resources. Clientelist networks and corrupt practices can play an important role generating resources that enable violent conflict.
10. Cf. Castells, The Power of Identity, 8.
11. See Hylland Eriksen, Ethnicity and Nationalism; and Nederveen Pieterse, Ethnicities and Global Multiculture.
12. Hall, “Cultural Identity and Diaspora,” 222.
13. Young, Justice and the Politics of Difference, 99.
14. See Jeganathan, “Checkpoint”; and Burnet, Genocide Lives in Us, 55, 61, 157.
15. Smith, A Culture of Corruption, 9.
16. See Myrdal, Asian Drama, 940.
17. Cheng and Zaum, “Selling the Peace?” 4.
18. See Scott, “The Analysis of Corruption”; and Blundo and Olivier de Sardan, Everyday Corruption and the State.
19. Blundo and Olivier de Sardan, Everyday Corruption and the State, 12.
20. Underkuffer, “Defining Corruption,” 37.
21. Olivier de Sardan, “A Moral Economy of Corruption?”
22. Ibid., 28.
23. See Wrong, It’s our Turn to Eat.
24. Smith, A Culture of Corruption, 86.
25. Koechlin, Corruption as an Empty Signifier, 5.
26. Krastev, Shifting Obsessions.
27. See Pugh, “Corruption and the Political Economy of Liberal Peace.”
28. See Rothstein, this issue.
29. Understanding corruption as both discourse and practice does not necessarily assume clear-cut lines distinguishing the two. Notably, work on discourse highlights how discourse and practice are mutually constitutive. See van Leeuwen, Discourse and Practice.
30. Philp, “Conceptualising Corruption,” 30.
31. Joseph, Democracy and Prebendal Politics, 53ff (original emphasis). See also Smith, A Culture of Corruption, 54.
32. Cited in Smith, A Culture of Corruption, 65.
33. Ibid.
34. Chabal and Daloz, Africa Works, 107.
35. Githongo, “Inequality, Ethnicity and the Fight against Corruption,” 22.
36. de Smedt, “‘No Raila, No Peace!’,” 584.
37. Wrong, It’s our Turn to Eat.
38. See Lindberg and Orjuela, “Corruption and Conflict.”
39. Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality and the Rule of Law, 4. See also Rothstein, Quality of Government.
40. Rothstein, Quality of Government, 156; Rose-Ackerman, “Corruption and Government,” 53; and Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality and the Rule of Law.
41. Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality and the Rule of Law, 49.
42. Ibid., 50. See also Rothstein, Quality of Government, 156ff.
43. Orjuela et al., “Corruption and Ethnic Divides”; and Smith, this issue.
44. Githongo, “Inequality, Ethnicity and the Fight against Corruption,” 21 (italics in the original).
45. de Smedt, “‘No Raila, No Peace!’,” 581.
46. Boone, “Politically Allocated Land Rights.”
47. Smith, this issue.
48. Smith, A Culture of Corruption, 204.
49. cpa, A Survey on Corruption.
50. Orjuela et al., “Corruption and Ethnic Divides.”
51. Scott, “The Analysis of Corruption,” 331.
52. Ibid., 327.
53. Ibid., 328.
54. Franck, “First They Ask for the Passport.”
55. Cheng and Zaum, “Selling the Peace?” 6.
56. Orjuela et al., “Corruption and Ethnic Divides.”
57. Boone, “Politically Allocated Land Rights,” 1312ff.
58. Rothstein and Tegnhammar, The Mechanisms of Corruption, 40.
59. Lawson, “The Politics of Anti-corruption Reform.”
60. Smith, A Culture of Corruption, 116.
61. Lindberg and Orjuela, “Corruption and Conflict.”
62. Belloni, “Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?” 234.
63. Perera, “Improved Governance.”
64. Olivier de Sardan, “A Moral Economy of Corruption?” 34.
65. Ibid., 29.
66. Lindberg and Orjuela, “Corruption and Conflict.”
67. Le Billon, “Corrupting Peace?” 72.
68. Lindberg and Orjuela, “Corruption and Conflict.”
69. Klopp, “‘Ethnic Clashes’ and Winning Elections,” 475.
70. Palmier, “Indonesia,” 155.
71. Belloni and Strazzari, this issue.
72. Le Billon, “Buying Peace or Fuelling War”; and Cheng and Zaum, “Selling the Peace?”
73. Cf. Uslaner’s and Rothstein’s argument that high levels of corruption are linked with low out-group trust and high in-group trust. Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality and the Rule of Law; and Rothstein Quality of Government.
74. Uvin, “Corruption and Violence in Burundi,” 19.
75. Nikolova and Mirescu, “Protesters Unite against Corruption.”
76. Uslaner, Corruption, Inequality and the Rule of Law, 19.
77. Nissen, Living Under the Rule of Corruption, 42.
78. Wrong, It’s Our Turn to Eat.
79. Orjuela et al., “Corruption and Ethnic Divides.”