Nepalese Journal of Public Policy and Governance, Vol. xxiv, No.

1, July, 2009 89

Countering Corruption: Globally or Locally?

Prakash C. Bhattarai

Abstract
Corruption goes along with the meaning of dishonesty, treachery and untruthfulness.
However, the exact meaning is difficult to arrive at as it varies depending on the various
perspectives. For the West, it is more associated wit the deceitful act for personal
economic benefit, whereas it is not limited to the monetary profit in the context of Nepal
but also refers to the exploitation, deception or betrayal of others. Therefore, it is
significant to acknowledge the meaning and the level of corruption in the particular
context in order to find its remedies within the periphery. It is readily accepted that none
of the countries are free from corruption, but the problem I see here is the attention of the
people to find its solution rather than trying to understand it i-depth in the particular
context. I argue that it is necessary to have an in-depth knowledge for understanding the
root causes of corruption, based on the particular socio-economic and cultural aspects
that help in the sustainable reduction of the practices of corruption.
In recent times, corruption has attracted the attention of researchers in the academic
arena; not only in economics, but also in public administration, sociology, political
science and law. Research in this area includes detailed descriptions of corruption
scandals, case studies, and cross-country studies. It also ranges from theoretical models
to empirical investigations. However, in the existing review, I found that all the studies
are related to measure/ understand global nature of corruption rather than understand,
and find the its depth in the particular social context. There are many questions that are
yet to be resolved. Does corruption in a particular context have the same nature and
extent as there is in the global context? In our attempt to reduce corrupt activities, is it
necessary to identify the required socio-economic context? Does corruption in every
local level have a distinct character? Can macro-model be well-equipped to address the
issue or is it necessary to develop a micro-model to curb corruption?

Corruption: Definitional Dilemma standards of high moral conduct.

Klitguard and Ronald Maclean-Abaroa
There is no universally accepted
(2000) have a similar opinion of
definition of corruption. The dictionary
corruption, as it is the misuse of office
of social sciences compiled under the
for personal gain. They further describe
auspices of UNESCO (1963) defines
that it can be internal to the organization
corruption in public life as the use of
(e.g. embezzlement) or external to it
public power for private profit,
(e.g. extortion). Although corrupt acts
preferment, or prestige, or for the
may sometimes result in a net social
benefit of a group or class, in a way that
constitutes a breach of law or of
90 Countering Corruption:
? Globally or Locally
benefit, corruption usually leads to
inefficiency, injustice, and inequality.
Going through the definitions of the
scholars, it is not difficult to reach a
conclusion that the western definitions
give priority to that is economic benefits
rather than the wide ethical meanings.
However, some definitions include
ethical meanings too. Hornby (2000), in
the Oxford Advanced Learner's
Dictionary of Current English, describes
corruption as: (1) dishonest or illegal
behavior, especially of people in
authority; (2) the act or effect of making
somebody change from moral to
immoral standards of behavior (p. 281).
Here, corruption is linked with two
important elements: authority and
morality. Although the basic idea is to
give priority to the monetary gains, it
does not go out from the moral character
of an individual. In contrast, the eastern
definition, particularly the Nepali and
Indian definition, concerns the ethical
dilemma that may be monetary or
something else. When one tries to find
the literal meaning of "corruption",
he/she needs to analyze the root word in
Nepali--bhrashtachar that is the
combination of two words bhrashta
(deceitful) and aachar (conduct), to
specify "corruption" as meaning
dishonest or wicked behavior.
Therefore, in the context of Nepal, a
person intending to act dishonestly or
illegally is said to be corrupt. Although
the word "corruption" may have many
different literal meanings in Nepal, the
basic definition refers to the wicked and
dishonest person intending on economic
gains or other benefits by deceiving and
misinterpreting others.
The Indian experience of corruption is
similar. “The term corruption covers a
broad range of human actions. He points
out that there is not a single individual
who has not been lured into corruption.
If corruption is accepted in a wider
perspective, exploitation of any kind is
corruption; shirking work is corruption;
waste of time, energy and money is
corruption; deceiving or betraying is
corruption; mismanaging of public or
private funds is corruption; undue is
corruption; smuggling is corruption...sex
has become one of the biggest areas of
corruption...corruption is the driving
force and part of a national character”
(Kohli, 2000, as cited in Rao, 2001).
The abovementioned definitions show
that there is no single commonly agreed
definition of corruption. However, it can
be inferred that most western people and
organizations concerned with corruption
related matters would agree that
corruption involves the abuse/ misuse of
a position of power or authority for
monetary gain or an increase of status/
position. These forms of corruption may
take place at any level of a private or
public organization, from the office file
carrier to the supranational business
manager. In contrast, the meaning of
corruption in the Nepalese sense is
wider and not only concerns the
economic benefits but also a wide range
of immoral and dishonest acts, and those
issues may include economic and other
related misuse of office for unofficial
gains.
Therefore, it is difficult to reach a
universal definition of corruption as it is
contextual and varies from place to
place, as it is rooted in the cultural
context. “Moral norms differ from place
 Nepalese Journal of Public Policy and Governance, Vol. xxiv, No.1, July, 2009
to place and change from time to time.
For example, whose moral standard
should be used, or what is the
appropriate moral benchmark if there is
more than one standard? In African
traditions, "gift giving" is a common
practice but in western cultures it is
often regarded as corruption”
(Qizilbash, 2001). In this context, I
argue that focusing to obtain the
universal meaning of corruption is
worthless rather we need to define and
understand corruption in the particular
context in an attempt to reduce it.
Corruption as a Problem
Corruption, indeed, is not visible and it
does not carry the evidence. In order to
speak against corruption and to protest
openly against it can not be done
universally. The reason is that
corruption varies from place to place,
and from private to public sector. In the
context of Nepal, corruption has become
one of the main reasons for widening
gap between the haves and have nots.
Millions of rupees in foreign aid never
reaches the hands of the needy ones for
whom it is meant. The amount that
needs to be invested on the basic
infrastructure has never been met due to
the misuse of the allocated money. Even
after the decade long Maoist movement
in Nepal, the economic growth could not
take place as the relevant policy has not
been property implemented to increase
the national income and raise the living
standards of the people.
Furthermore, corruption is believed to
have significant impact on the socio-
cultural value system. For the West, it
has become one of the important
agendas to intervene in the social
91
settings of the poor countries. Maria
(2005) believes that West’s new interest
in attacking African “corruption” is true
to the logic of neo-colonialism.
Transplanted, culturally de-sensitized
explanations about wrongdoing are
currently circulating in asymmetrical
power relations that have come to mark
the West’s dealings with Africa.
Culture and Corruption
Culture is a whole complex of
distinctive spiritual, material,
intellectual and emotional features that
characterizes a social group – not only
the arts and letters but also modes of
life, fundamental rights of the human
being, value systems and beliefs
(UNESCO, 1995). As corruption is
deep-rooted in the social system that
comprises of norms, values, arts, morals
etc, it is difficult to define/ assess
corruption without relating to culture.
Husted (1999) argued that “effective
measures to fight corruption are
dependent on culture. Countries with a
large power distance or a strong desire
for material wealth will require different
treatment than others”. Emphasis on
culture as a means of human growth and
empowerment and the recognition that
in order to achieve sustainable
development, economic, financial and
social reforms have to be addressed
from a cultural perspective (Austrian
Development Agency, 2006). One
cannot deny the notion that cultural
development is based on an assumption
that culture and development are closely
interlinked, since all kinds of evolution,
including human and economics, are
ultimately determined by cultural
factors. Therefore, it is not an easy task
92 Countering Corruption:
? Globally or Locally
to describe corruption without relating it
to the culture of the particular context.
The normative statement that
development must be "embedded in
culture" glosses over the character of
development as a cultural performance
in itself: implicitly the reference is to the
culture of others, of the developing
entity and in a opaque sort of way it is a
statement about development as an
engagement with cultural difference
(Pieterse, 2001).
Cultural Determinants of Corruption
Every country has its unique
characteristic features of corruption. In
an attempt to reduce corruption, these
factors should be considered. It is a fact
that the factors that work in the
developed country may not function for
those in the developing countries.
Among these various factors, history,
religion, gender, consumerism play
significant role to shape corrupt
behaviors.
History is related to the present. Every
country has its own unique history. The
particular history of a country cannot be
studied or analyzed from the history of
the others. For Nepal, the political
instability and corruption is not new.
The widespread and visible misrule and
political instability was established after
the tragic death of the then Prime
Minister Bhimsen Thapa in 1837 A.D.
Later, Jung Bahadur started a new
lineage of Rana rulers. During s period
of 104 years, under Rana rule, the
national treasury was used as pocket
money for the Rana prime ministers and
their followers. Regmee (2001) found
the first autocratic Prime Minister Jung
Bahadur Rana established Dharma
Kachahari, a court forum, to look into
corruption cases. In 1950, the people
overthrew the autocratic Rana oligarchy
and various attempts were made to
regulate the national economy followed
by a great political change in 1990. A
major form of insurgency started in
1996, when a revolutionary group began
their armed moves. The moves ended in
2007; however, the outcomes can be still
observed.
This brief history of Nepal has its some
unique characteristic features that may
not be generalized for other countries.
The country that has had a decade-long
insurgency has a different context than
the others that have not faced conflicts.
In addition, when we consider social
problems, they emerge in a particular
context through the passage of time.
Without peeping into history, it is very
difficult and even impossible to find the
roots of the social problem. Therefore,
in our attempt to reduce corrupt
activities, we can look back to history
from where the main problems have
emerged.
Some societies are characterized by a
high level of trust among its people,
while others may lack this. If trust
differs from place to place, it is hard to
explain corruption as if it has the same
nature everywhere. The role of religion
also contributes to the level of
corruption examined. La Porta et al
(1997) consider the Catholic, Eastern
Orthodox and the Muslim religion to be
particularly hierarchical and that such
hierarchical forms of religion are
detrimental to civic engagement, a
factor which should help reduce
corruption (p. 337). Regarding the
sample of 33 countries mentioned, the
 Nepalese Journal of Public Policy and Governance, Vol. xxiv, No.1, July, 2009
authors report a positive association
between the percentage of population
belonging to a hierarchical religion, and
corruption, controlling for other
iinfluences. A more in-depth analysis of
the impact of religion is provided by
Paldam (2001). He identifies 11
different groups of religion and tests
their impact on corruption, controlling
for other variables. While in countries
with a large fraction of Reform
Christianity and Tribal religion,
corruption is lower, higher levels of
corruption can be found in countries
with a large influence of Pre-Reform
Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and
Hinduism. This shows that corruption
depends on the religion followed in a
particular place to some extent. I did not
find any study as to why corruption is
deep-rooted in particular religion
followers than others. However, the
above studies are amplyl enough to
explain that religion too has not
remained untouched by the influences of
corruption.
Women's participation is also argued to
correlate with corruption. Swamy et al.
(2001) indicate that the more women are
involved in the public arena, the lower
the corruption will be. They also find
that a higher share of women in
parliament and in government reduces
corruption. Manandhar (2006) shares his
field experience in Butawal and wrote
his conclusion (based on the conclusion
of 55 women participants in the field)
that women are less corrupt compared to
their men counterparts. The reasons
include: woman are very sensitive,
honest, less selfish, can understand the
future implication and lack
opportunities.
93
Some scholars even link the degree of
corruption with legal origin. La Porta et
al. (1997) report that in countries with
German and Scandinavian legal origin,
corruption is lower compared to those
with a socialist and French legal origin.
As there are various countries in the
world with their own legal origin, we
can say that corruption has its own
nature and extent in various cultural
settings of the world.
Geography is a broad term that includes
both human and physical geography. As
it explains the interactions among the
members of the society that shape
norms, traditions, cultures, and
institutions, human geography may also
matter for corruption. In a
heterogeneous and fragmented society,
the probability that economic agents will
be treated equally and fairly is lower. As
a result, highly fragmented communities
are likely to be more corrupt than
homogenous societies (Swamy et al.,
2001). This explanation indicates that
corruption varies from place to place for
being homogenous or heterogeneous
society too.
Panday (2001) argues that the
individualistic and competitive values
promoted by a liberal market often
causes business and civil society to
negate their social obligations of
fairness, justice and equality. This
statement clearly illustrates that the
competitive ideology and selfish values
imported from the "west" create
corruption in impoverished areas. This
is because when there is very little
opportunity to attain a position of
affluence; people have to be corrupt to
"get ahead" in the global economy. The
importation of western "consumer
94 Countering Corruption:
? Globally or Locally
culture" may also be causation or
sustaining factor of corruption in Nepal
(Bhattarai, 2003). The ideology of
"consumerism" attaches great
importance gor instant gratification
rather than delayed gratification. The
"get rich quick" attitude prevails, and
the aspiration to become rich and live a
comfortable or even lavish lifestyle is a
strong driving-force for many people
who comply with these values. For those
who adhere to these new "western"
social norms and values, the temptation
to engage in corrupt activities will be
immense, especially when the
realization dawns that it is not possible
for the vast majority of people to
achieve such monetary success by
legitimate means. In this context, I argue
that the level or degree of consumerism
differs from place to place. It is an
individual phenomenon the extent of
which is defined in the particular
cultural settings.
From a somewhat Neo-Marxist
perspective, at the highest level of the
political hierarchy, corruption can be
seen to be attributable to…the "greedy,
selfish and individualistic" western
consumer values (Bhattarai, 2003). It is
the fact that the political party in power
requires extensive funds for their
campaigns to maintain and increase
public popularity, in order to win the
next election, may apply pressure on
them to abuse their position of power
and dishonestly obtain the funds for
their own survival in the democratic
system. Therefore, the democratic
system can be seen as contributing
factor to the corruption problem in
Nepal because of its competitive nature.
The rival parties have to do as much as
they can (including corrupt activities) to
"get ahead" in the race for votes and
maintain/attain their position of power. I
argue that this nature is contextual and
the degree of which varies from place to
place.
It may be argued that the foundations
underpinning the mechanism of
Nepalese society are actually based on
corrupt principles. Although
functionalists’ view highlights the
importance on every social unit that
exists in a society, I argue that some
social units begin to function or function
negatively with the passage of time. The
"caste system", although officially
abolished by Nepalese law, is still a
prominent feature of Nepalese society
even today. The operation of a caste
system in Nepal means that a person
born into a "higher" caste will
automatically have superior chances of
obtaining a relatively highly paid job
(following in the footsteps of his
forefathers). On the other hand, a person
who is born into a 'lower caste" will be
expected (by society) to follow in their
caste heritage and engage in
menial/manual work for a lower wage.
The chances of such people, born into a
lower caste, of acquiring a career of
higher status are seen to be minimal.
The illustration of drastic inequality of
opportunities manifests in Nepal, and
that can be seen as the corrupt platform
on which Nepalese society rests. The
acquisition of a relatively prestigious
career position through family heritage
(ethnic grouping) draws parallels with
the corrupt activity of nepotism. Since
this is such a widespread phenomenon
within the Nepalese society that we can
say that corruption is extremely deep-
 Nepalese Journal of Public Policy and Governance, Vol. xxiv, No.1, July, 2009
rooted in the foundations of the society;
therefore it will not be a small task to
even manufacture a small reduction in
its occurrence. The former statement
indicates that drastic and broad societal
action needs to be taken if a difference
is to be made. Can broad global effort
contribute in the Nepalese socio-cultural
context? I argue that in the course of
developing a tool, attention should be
paid to develop distinct model that is
suitable in the particular cultural setting.
The model may not be of use for any
other cultural setting.
It is often said that Nepal has some
specific categories of corrupt activities.
International charity donations and aid
intended to be given to "worthwhile"
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
charity projects, for the benefit of the
seriously disadvantaged members of the
Nepali society, often finds its way into
the pockets of some "bogus" NGOs, or
is only partially used by reputable
NGOs for its intended cause. In our
attempt to reduce corruption, these
minor issues, must also be considered
There are still some more cultural
factors that make a particular place
distinct in terms of corrupt behaviors.
Therefore, it is necessary that in our
attempt to reduce corrupt practices, we
need to understand those factors in the
particular context and setting. It is
necessary to develop a model that is
well-suited to combat corruption in the
particular socio-cultural setting.
Current Trends of Countering
Corruption
In the present context of globalization,
every issue is looked at from the lens of
capitalist economy and political process.
95
Non-market values such as trust, ethics
of care and compassion, a politics of
recognition and respect, are not given
importance in capitalist society. "In our
own time, it is becoming extremely
difficult for non-market values to gain a
foothold. Mercy, justice: they are non-
market. Care, service: non-market.
Solidarity, fidelity: non-market.
Sweetness, kindness and gentleness: all
non-market. Tragically, non-market
values are relatively scarce." (West,
1999, as cited in Denzin & Lincoln,
2005, p. 361). This might be a reason
why corruption, deeply rooted in the
ethical context, is not given due respect
but given emphasis on the meaning of
corruption that is rooted in wealth.
Pieterse (2001) argues that "an element
that tends to be relegated to the
background in culture and development
literature is the engagement with
capitalism-as if the shift toward a
cultural definition of problems is also a
shift away from a political economy
perspective" ( p. 71). This style of
presenting corruption really complicates
the issue rather than arriving at a
solution. This may be the reason why
despite a remarkable number of
governmental and nongovernmental
international bodies including the World
Bank, OECD working, corruption is
growing even greener.
Solution to the Challenges
As described in interactionism, to
understand the act, it is necessary to
discover the meaning held by the actors.
Meanings are not fixed entities. They
are shaped by the interaction on the
particular context. "Meanings are also
created, developed, modified and
96 Countering Corruption:
? Globally or Locally
changed within the actual process of
interaction." (Haralambous & Heald,
2004, p. 16). Corrupt practices are also
developed in a particular social setting
in the course of interaction. Through
interaction, meanings of corruption
undergo modification and become the
agenda for discussion. As the interaction
is based on a particular social setting,
the meaning that is shaped in a
particular social setting has its
uniqueness and may not be generalized
in another social setting. Therefore, the
present trend of globalizing the issue,
and trying to find the solution by global
movement against corruption has to be
drastically revised. Instead, in an
attempt to reduce corrupt practices, local
practices and the context of shaping the
meanings should be observed, where the
exact solution to the problem can be
found.
Conclusion
Corruption goes along with the meaning
of dishonesty, treachery and
untruthfulness, so the exact meaning is
difficult to depict as it varies according
to different perspectives. For the West,
it is more associated to the deceitful act
for personal economic benefit, whereas
it is not limited to the monetary profit in
the context of Nepal but also refers to
the exploitation, deception or betrayal of
others. In order to reduce the deep-
rooted social ill of corruption, attempts
to reduce its occurrence must be of a
broad and persistent nature to match the
characteristics of the problem. We must
be under no misconception that there
will be a simple solution, or "silver
bullet", to eliminate such a deeply
ingrained propensity. What is needed is
a broad, dynamic and sustained effort to
reduce corruption at all levels of its
occurrence, and that needs to be
searched in the exiting socio-cultural
context.
One of the reasons why government
corruption has grown to be pervasive in
many countries today is primarily
because much effort has been spent to
remedy the problem globally rather than
to understand it in the socio-cultural
setting. In order to address the problem,
their focus is given to the existing laws
and financial aspects of the country as
the remedial means. Every issue is
looked on from the lens of capitalist
economy and political process. Experts
take corruption as the agenda of political
and economic process. Non-market
values such as trust, ethics of care and
compassion, a politics of recognition
and respect, are not given importance in
the capitalist society. In an honest and
preliminary effort to reduce corrupt
practices, an individual must focus on
understanding the various factors
associated with it together with the
available socio-economic and cultural
setting. Addressing those factors in the
local context obviously helps in
hindering the corrupt practices.
Developing thinking needs to abandon
the present way of thinking to find a
single silver bullet macro model to
reduce corruption in all socio-economic
settings and needs to choose paradigms
to find own micro model that gives
importance to understanding social
interaction that contributes to form
corrupt behaviors in the particular social
setting.
 Nepalese Journal of Public Policy and Governance, Vol. xxiv, No.1, July, 2009 97

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