Corruption as Everyday Practice. The Public—Private Divide in Local Indian Society

Bibliographic Data

ID12116262
AuthorsArild Engelsen Ruud (0000-0002-4545-3690, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume27
Issue2
Pages271-294
Publication date2000-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueForum for Development Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0803-9410 • E-ISSN: 1891-1765
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08039410.2000.9666142
OpenAlexW2044705469
LanguageEN
Citations received34
References cited13

Drawing on ethnographic material from West Bengal (India), the article investigates the practice of corruption. Several points are made on the relevance of ethnographic investigation to an understanding of the practice of corruption. Networking is an everyday coping strategy that does not distinguish between the private and public roles of the individual. Although such distinctions may be well known, practices such as networking and the moral weight of reciprocal obligation ensure that the dividing line is still crossed. A certain heroism attached to the daring and successful player adds to this. Different and partially opposing values create a situation of innovative and contesting interpretations that in part maintain a level of corruption and in part represent a dynamic field for possible opposition

Ethnography · Language change · Obligation · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Law · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

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