Anti-corruption Agencies – Silver Bullet Against Corrupion or Fifth Wheel to a Coach? Analysis from the Perspective of the Constructivist Theory of Social Problems

Grzegorz Makowski

doi:10.33119/kszpp.2016.3.3

Abstract

Constructivism is the most dynamically evolving concept in the sociology of social problems. The research projects based on this paradigm, especially those dedicated to corruption, provide valuable insights and opportunities to formulate conclusions on the nature of this phenomenon, which would be difficult to derive from other theoretical traditions. The main purpose of this paper is to show how a constructivist approachmight be used to better understand the nature of modern corruption, and why one of the most popular solutions nowadays, anti-corruption agencies (ACAs), so often fail. The author’s main argument is that one of the most important reasons why the ACAs fail is strongly related to how a social problem of corruption is constructed.

Highlights

Constructing and converting social problemsOne of the most recent and interesting variants of the constructivist approach is Jamrozik’s theory of the residualist conversion of social problems
Constructivism is the most dynamically evolving concept in the sociology of social problems1
One of the most recent and interesting variants of the constructivist approach is Jamrozik’s theory of the residualist conversion of social problems. Within his concept a social problem is a set of circumstances, attitudes, processes and structures, perceived and defined by people as threatening to their values,objectives, hierarchies, or moral standards or to institutions considered by the society or given groups to be essential to maintain social stability5

Summary

Constructing and converting social problems

One of the most recent and interesting variants of the constructivist approach is Jamrozik’s theory of the residualist conversion of social problems. Within his concept a social problem is a set of circumstances, attitudes, processes and structures, perceived and defined by people as threatening to their values,objectives, hierarchies, or moral standards or to institutions considered by the society or given groups to be essential to maintain social stability. Seven Perspectives (Sixth Edition), Oxford University Press, New York 2003; S. Best (Ed.), Images of Issues: Typifying Contemporary Social Problems, New York 1995.

Studia z Polityki Publicznej

Corruption as social problem

Conclusion and one more hypothesis for further research on ACAs