Interdisciplinary Approaches to Corruption Workshop

"Understanding the Politics of Grand Corruption in Latin America"

Few if any issues pose as many challenges to researchers as the study of corruption. The reasons are multifold, but two aspects stand out. First, corruption (a concept that is notoriously difficult to define) encompasses an array of practices potentially carried out by very different actors, in very different settings and areas, and at very different levels. Second, corruption is also inherently secretive in nature, as those involved in corrupt acts have many incentives to keep their actions under wraps. Therefore, in studying corruption we are faced with very limited information on an array of very diverse actions. In this talk I will develop the path and strategies that I have followed to understand (or rather TRY to understand) the political dynamics behind a very specific—and arguably impactful—type of corruption: grand corruption; usually understood as acts and allegations of acts by major, usually elected, political figures involving wrongdoings in office for personal gain. In presenting my research on corruption scandals in Latin America I will argue that the study of corruption needs to be disaggregated and that different categories require an emphasis on diverse sources of information, a focus on specific actors, and the deployment of different theoretical and methodological tools. For the case of Grand Corruption, I will make the case to focus on the role of political competitive dynamics both within government and among political parties or coalitions, on the key role of the media and media coverage of corruption, and on employing mixed methods approaches given the difficulties in accessing reliable sources of data.

Manuel Balán is an associate professor at the Institute for the Study of International Development at McGill University, where his research addresses comparative politics with a regional focus on Latin America...

Paolo Carozza is the director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and professor of law and concurrent professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. With expertise in comparative constitutional law, human rights, law and development, and international law, he focuses his research on Latin America, Western Europe, and international themes more broadly...

Tomás Gold

Tomás Gold is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. His main work has been focused on the dynamic interaction between social movements and political parties. He has studied their patterns of mutual influence in Argentina and Brazil and is currently engaged in a project with Professor Ann Mische to study how parties and leaders reacted to – and took advantage of – anti-partisan protests in the last global wave of contention...

Luiz Vilaça

Luiz Vilaça is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Notre Dame and a Kellogg PhD Fellow. His research cuts across organizational, political, and cultural sociology. His work focuses on anti-corruption reform, institutional change, and the effects of corruption investigations on public opinion and voting behavior...