Sociologie et criminologie-Open Access
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Towards a Psychodynamic Theory of Corruption

Ghlionn J. Mac

According to Transparency International’s latest corruption index, India is one of the most badly affected countries in Asia. To compound matters, the recent pandemic has made matters considerably worse. The explanations for such rampant acts of bribery and embezzlement tend to involve burdensome regulations and opaque branches of government. Other authors suggest that India suffers from a lack of competitive free markets. These explanations are, of course, valid. However, what the literature appears to lack is a more human-centered explanation for acts of corruption. For example, talking about Kafkaesque like regulations fails to answer a fundamental question: Why, on a deeply human level, do some people knowingly violate the law? More specifically, what factors could play a role in creating a person willing to engage in acts of dishonesty and/or illegality? From my research, when discussing India specifically, the extant literature lacks a psychodynamic theory of corruption. In this short paper, I attempt to address that problem. Please find the paper attached.