Corruption as a social process: from dyads to networks

Abstract

Corruption is a complex social process involving not only institutions & systems, but also individual actors. Corrupt transactions begin with two individuals, both dealing with excitatory & inhibitory forces. In a form of power relations, these two individuals exchange power resources. Since the transaction is sanctionable, the dyadic interaction must be performed with secret communication & trust. Social network theory is used to develop a model of how corrupt dyadic transactions expand into corrupt networks of resource exchange. Corruption prevention programs should include monitoring channels of communication between individuals with resource dependencies, targeting cases where public employees strongly share interests not in line with organizational interests, & conceptualizing corruption in terms of power flows & relations, not individual attributes. M. Pflum