Institutional Corruption
A Study in Applied Philosophy

This book integrates theoretical accounts of corruption with practical approaches to combating corruption in various public- and private-sector settings.

Seumas Miller (Author)

9780521869461, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 October 2017

330 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.59 kg

'Seumas Miller has written a necessary book for our current political era. Institutional Corruption: A Study in Applied Philosophy offers a philosophical taxonomy and diagnostic for what is probably the most intractable problem in human politics, the corruption of public and private institutions … The most important and most radical concept in his creative work here is that of joint rights … The concept of joint rights is … a powerful rebuke to the dominant concept in the thinking of many contemporary politicians, state leaders, and the corporate barons who lobby them: that a right can be held and manifest only by an individual.' Adam Riggio, Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective

In this book, Seumas Miller develops distinctive philosophical analyses of corruption, collective responsibility and integrity systems, and applies them to cases in both the public and the private sectors. Using numerous well-known examples of institutional corruption, he explores a variety of actual and potential anti-corruption measures. The result is a wide-ranging, theoretically sophisticated and empirically informed work on institutional corruption and how to combat it. Part I defines the key concepts of corruption, power, collective responsibility, bribery, abuse of authority and nepotism; Part II discusses anti-corruption and integrity systems, corruption investigations and whistle-blowing; and Part III focuses on corruption and anti-corruption in specific institutional settings, namely policing, finance, business and government. Integrating theory with practical approaches, this book will be important for those interested in the philosophy and ethics of corruption as well as for those who work to combat it.

Introduction
Part I. Corruption: Theory: 1. Institutions
2. Social power
3. Defining corruption
4. Noble cause corruption
5. Bribery, nepotism, fraud and abuse of authority
6. Institutional responsibility: individual and collective
Part II. Anti-Corruption: Practice: 7. Integrity systems
8. Investigations
9. Integrity systems for occupations
10. Whistleblowing
Part III. Contexts of Corruption: 11. Market-based institutions
12. Banking and finance
13. Police organisations
14. Government.

Subject Areas: Law [L], Social & political philosophy [HPS]