Shmerlina, Irina. A. Corruption as a diffuse institute. Sovremennye issledovaniya sotsialnykh problem [Modern Research of Social Problems], 2016, no. 11(67), pp. 248-277.

Abstract

The purpose of the article is critical examination of the institutional treatment of corruption and revealing the limitations of such an approach. Starting from the sociological understanding of social institute as a complex, multi-layered, indirect, transpersonal form of social regulation, we examine from this angle the nature of corruption. The concept of corruption as a diffuse institute is suggested. This concept accounts for the system and structural features of corruption on the one hand and, on the other hand, pinpoints the discrepancy between this phenomenon and the full content of the term ‘social institute’. Treating corruption as a diffuse institute certainly involves an assessment of potential efficiency of different counteracting measures. However, above all, it is a question of diagnosing this social phenomenon, which should be more profound and nuanced than simply understanding it as an informal institute.