Abstract
The unprecedented municipal corruption scandals that occurred in Oslo in 1989–91 illustrate the contrasts and interrelationships between publicly-perceived scandal and actual corruption. What was depicted at the time as massive corruption has resulted in no convictions of politicians; on close examination the corrupt behavior appears to have been limited in both significance and scope, though official reports do suggest the possibility that more serious wrongdoing may have occurred. The case illustrates not only the mechanisms by which scandal is propagated, but also the contrasts between legalistic and other definitions of corruption. Analysis of four possible categories of corrupt behavior shows the difficulties of applying legalistic definitions to actual practice, and offers a clearer understanding of how corruption and scandal can diverge so sharply.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Borud, H.,Korrupsjon i Östre Tårn? (Thesis), Institute of Political Science, Univ. of Oslo, 1992.
Cazzola, F.,Della corruzione. Fisiologia e patologia di un sistema (Il Mulino, Bologna, 1988).
Della Porta, D., Corruzione e carriere politiche: Immagini dei “politici d'affari”Stato e Mercato, 1992 (34): 193–215.
Dolan, K., B.M. Keown and J.M. Carlson, Popular conceptions of political corruption: implications for the empirical study of political ethics.Corruption and Reform 1988 (3): 3–25.
Dunsire, A., Bureaucratic Morality in United Kingdom.International Political Science Review, 1988 (9: 3).
Folkvord, E.,Rapport fra rottereiret, Korrupsjon i Norge 1990 (Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo, 1990).
Heidenheimer, A.J. (ed.),Political Corruption: Readings in Comparative Analysis (Holt, Rinehart and Winston: New York, 1970).
Heidenheimer, A.J., M. Johnston and V. LeVine,Political Corruption: A Handbook (Transactions Books: New Brunswick, NJ, 1989).
Kjellberg, F., Corruption as an Analytical Problem,Indian Journal of Administrative Science, 1992 (4): 195–221.
Marengo, F.D., The linkage between political corruption and political scandal.Corruption and Reform 1988 (3): 65–79.
Mény, Y.,La corruption de la Républic (Fayard: Paris, 1992).
Moodie, G.C., Studying political scandal.Corruption and Reform 1988 (3): 243–46.
Oluwu, D., Bureaucratic Performance in Developed and Developing Countries: A Review of Recent Literature on Development.Public Administration Review 1984 (44): 453–58.
Pinto-Duschinsky, M., Corruption.The Social Science Encyclopedia (Routledge and Kegan Paul: London, 1985): 163–65.
Vose, C.E., Conflict of Interest.International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (Macmillan Company and Free Press: New York, 1968): 242–46.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kjellberg, F. Conflict of interest, corruption or (simply) scandals?. Crime Law Soc Change 22, 339–360 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01302924
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01302924