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Corruption: A Very Short Introduction
(Very Short Introductions #426)
by
Leslie Holmes
3.62 · Rating details · 53 Ratings · 10 Reviews
Corruption is one of the biggest global issues, ahead of extreme poverty, unemployment, the rising cost of food and energy, climate change, and terrorism. It is thought to be one of the principal causes of poverty around the globe. Its significance in the contemporary world cannot be undervalued.
In this Very Short Introduction, Leslie Holmes looks the history of corruption across the millennia and considers why the international community has only highlighted it as a problem in the past two decades. Holmes explores the phenomenon from several different perspectives, from the cultural differences affecting how corruption is defined, its impact, its various causes, and the possible remedies. Providing evidence of corruption and considering ways to address it around the world, this is an important introduction to a significant and serious global issue.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
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Paperback, 144 pages
Published July 1st 2015 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published March 31st 2015)
ISBN
0199689695 (ISBN13: 9780199689699)
Series
Very Short Introductions #426
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Jul 18, 2018Adam Ross rated it liked it
Shelves: very-short-introductions
This was a pretty decent overview of corruption, both in government and in business, the theory of corruption, and the signs, effects, costs, and consequences (social, economic, etc.) of corruption. The only odd part is where she claims lobbying and corporate contributions aren't really corruption (bribery). Nobody buys that.
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Aug 07, 2015Daniel Wright rated it liked it
Shelves: sociology, vsi, economics, politics-and-ir
Problems with talking about corruption: it's hard to define, it's hard to delineate what counts as corruption with respect to surrounding culture, and it's hard to measure because by most definitions it is something hidden. The author does not shy away from these problems, but addresses them as fully as possible. He says that interest in corruption as an academic discipline (within various social sciences) is only around twenty or so years old (coming out of the end of the Cold War). I have no reason to doubt him, but his lack of a historical background seriously hampers his efforts to describe the problem.
Chapter 1: What is corruption?
Chapter 2: Why corruption is a problem
Chapter 3: Can we measure corruption?
Chapter 4: Psycho-social and cultural explanations
Chapter 5: System-related explanations
Chapter 6: What can states do?
Chapter 7: What else can be done? (less)
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Jun 15, 2015Vikas Datta rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Quite an accessible explanation of this malady, the issues in delineating it - and the sobering thought that it can only be minimised, not eradicated totally unless there is a radical new change in human mentality, economics and society...
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Jun 23, 2018Z.D. Cassel rated it it was amazing
This book is incredibly good for its size, and is worth the price for the bibliography alone. Holmes does an excellent job of clarifying the often murky issue of corruption by detailing various lens to consider it, effectively providing a framework for how to think about corruption on historical, domestic, and international levels, among others. Successive readings of the book will likely yield more. Highly recommended for anyone that wants to start thinking more in-depth about this complicated issue. (less)
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Jun 23, 2018Lyla rated it liked it · review of another edition
It is what it is - a very short introduction. There wasn't an awful lot of new information, and it talks about a bunch of stuff that seems decently obvious. However the point of the Very Short Introduction series is not to be profound, it's to give an overview so that you have the basic background you need, and this book does exactly that.
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Apr 29, 2018jzthompson rated it really liked it
Shelves: africa, construction, north-america, oceania, politics, vsi, south-america,written-by-a-dude, economics, europe
Extremely thorough, well-reasoned and fact-dense. This will be extremely valuable to anyone working on or studying corruption. I did, however, find my attention wandering quite a bit and I don't think this is entirely down to my slow and befuddled brain.
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Jan 21, 2016Keith rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: corruption
This is a great short analysis of corruption, how it is studied, what it is, and current trends in research. The last section of the book with the list of further sources was an excellent guide for a research project I am working on and gave me a lot of further avenues for research. Anyone who is interested to learn more about corruption should check out this short introduction. It is well worth the price!
