Português
This project is developed within a PhD scholarship with the funding reference 2024.01406.BD.
Well-established democracies still struggle with corruption, despite efforts to fight it. One reason may be that anti-corruption policies fail to address corruption as a self-reinforcing phenomenon, i.e., the more widespread it is perceived to be, the more willing people are to engage in corrupt behaviours. Understanding corruption through this lens is crucial to fighting it effectively. Therefore, this project aims to answer the research question: “How do individuals contribute to self-reinforcing corruption in democracies?”, through three different but interrelated mechanisms of social reactions and processes.
Corruption may be self-reinforcing because society labels what is deviance or not. Therefore, this project will first examine how society defines corruption and how that can explain why some corrupt behaviours are bypassed, thus perpetuating corruption. Secondary data from two representative surveys conducted in Portugal (n=1020) and Spain (n=1506) will be analysed, as these countries have low levels of corruption experience and tolerance, yet high perceptions of widespread corruption. Five dimensions of
corruption will be analysed to understand how people define it. Additionally, regression analyses will be done to assess whether the definition of corruption represents differences in tolerance of specific corruptacts, and what other variables may influence this.
Corruption may also be self-reinforcing because deviant behaviour is learned through social interactions and is motivated by intrinsic feelings of self-reward or self-censure, as well as extrinsic feelings of social validation or disapproval. Hence, this project will also investigate the psychological mechanisms driving people to engage in corruption, further sustaining it. This study will focus on Portuguese participants, given Portugal’s high level of perceived widespread corruption, and inconsistencies between social moral values and actions regarding corruption. Different theories of criminology and psychology will be analysed to understand the mechanisms behind immoral conduct. Data will be gathered through focus groups and list experiment surveys to explore this topic both in group and individual settings.
Finally, corruption may be self-reinforcing because strong social bonds can deter people from reporting corrupt behaviour by their peers. Thus, this project will examine societal views towards whistle-blowers in contexts of widespread corruption. The study will focus on Portugal and Italy, as both have high levels of perceived widespread corruption, but Portugal has some of the lowest levels of corruption reporting, and Italy has high levels. Surveys will be conducted and analysed through Multiple Correspondence Analysis to profile whistle-blowers, followed by interviews to gain a more in-depth explanation of the perceptions of whistle-blowers and to uncover whether these perceptions hinder people from reporting corruption, further contributing to its self-reinforcement.
Keywords: Corruption; self-reinforcing; individuals; morality; democratic contexts.
| Research Centre | Research Group | Role in Project | Begin Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEI-Iscte | -- | Partner | 2024-09-02 | 2028-09-01 |
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| Name | Affiliation | Role in Project | Begin Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inês Ascenso | PhD Scholar (CEI-Iscte); | PhD Scholar | 2024-09-02 | 2028-09-01 |
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