ABSTRACT
Venturing into an issue as complex as the causes of polit ical corrup tion opens up a number of intric ate prob lems, not least since, as stated by Huberts, ‘corrup tion and caus a tion are among the most contested concepts’ (2010: 146). The prob lems can be divided along three analyt ical dimen sions. The fi rst is whether we should operate with a univer sal under stand ing of corruption or consider it a problem that is cultur ally or tempor ally specifi c. This also relates to how we under stand the oppos ite of corrup tion. Is ‘clean’ govern ment a univer sal or a cultur ally specifi c entity, and, if specifi c, how many vari ations can exist, and of what type? Understanding and explain ing the causes of corrup tion is not only an academic issue but has a ‘policyrelev ant’ dimen sion. If we want to minim ise corrup tion, what altern at ive state should we wish for?
