Power(ful) Connections: Exploring the Revolving Doors Phenomenon as a Form of State-Corporate Crime

Abstract

The ‘revolving doors’ phenomenon is the name given to the movement of individuals from public office to private companies and vice versa. It is believed that this phenomenon impacts the decision-making process to the detriment of the public interest. While it has largely been framed as a corrupt practice, this research seeks to explore it as a form of state-corporate crime by employing the case study of the Spanish government and the fossil fuel industry. The study finds that the explored case of revolving doors causes harm by driving social and economic instability and climate inaction and proposes the creation of a 'state-capture corporate crime'. Overall, the paper highlights the need to broaden the revolving doors and state-corporate crime concepts to allow its inclusion in the criminological agenda.