Corruption in Indonesia’s Emerging Democracy

Abstract

Much has been studied by political scientists about practices of corruption and their implications for development. They have provided useful analysis on the causes and impacts of corruption. In contrast, sociologists seem to have glossed over issues of corruption. This article aims to contribute to the sociology of organization by reconstructing a theoretical framework of organizational institutionalism through understanding corruption in an emerging democracy. Using cases of corruption in Indonesia, this article intends to enrich previous perspectives on social construction and contestation of corruption occurring in democratizing polities. It explores the extent to which reform in formal governance has taken into account informal arrangements to eradicate corruption. Secondary data and focused group discussions have been used to collect data. The findings inform that informal organizational networks of corruption emerge and develop within formal organizational relationships. On the other hand, informal norms and networks also exist that potentially facilitate anticorruption initiatives. This article recommends that the Corruption Eradication Commission, as the main anticorruption body, improves its understanding of the connections among public organizations, and between public organizations and societal organizations. This will enable public leaders to adopt a combination of the principles of Western and formal governance and existing informal arrangements to combat corruption. The sociology of organization will benefit from adopting the concept of informal organizational networks of corruption to illuminate the “dark corners” of formal organizational relationships.