Karin Zotzmann’s Codes of Corruption: A Critical Realist Discourse Analysis of Illicit Transactions (2025) is the latest exciting book in Routledge’s Critical Realism book series.
The Centre for Critical Realism is hosting an online book launch on May 14th 2025 at 2.30pm (UK time: GMT+1). Karin will explain the core argument of her book and then respond to comments from Robert Barrington, Professor of Anti-Corruption Practice at the University of Sussex, and Gareth Wiltshire, Senior Lecturer at Loughborough University and Managing Editor of the Routledge Critical Realism series.
Attendance is free: register here
Corruption is expanding internationally and so are strategic, often false, accusations of corruption in political campaigns and elections. An analysis of realistic instances of corruption that can contribute to an understanding and explanation of the interplay between agents, structures, and discursive/semiotic practices, is therefore needed. Access to these illegal practices is close to impossible however, and research is either of theoretical nature or focuses on perceptions of and attitudes towards the phenomenon. In fact, research on perceptions and attitudes plays ‘an unusually important role in this realm’ (Grigorescu 2006: 522). Transparency International, for instance, draws on different expert and business surveys to calculate the perceived levels of corruption in a country
This book fills this gap by reporting on a qualitative analysis of a corpus of instances of corruption—mainly bribery and extortion as the quintessential forms of corruption, but also on some cases of facilitation payments, clientelism (vote buying) and cronyism—from Mexico, a country where the phenomenon has systemic character. While Mexico serves as a case study, the results will be discussed in broader theoretical terms that apply to other contexts as well.
The corpus is divided into three main parts: instances of petty corruption—where the quid and the quo is rather small, and the societal damage is relatively limited, as in the case of traffic violations—middle range forms of corruption—where larger sums of money or other rewards are at stake, the interaction is more complex, and the consequences are further reaching—and elite corruption—where participants operate with far more institutional power and resources, both the gains and risks are grander, and the concomitant damage that their actions cause is substantial.
The analysis uses a variety of discourse and multimodal analytical tools to show the interactional work participants engage in to come to an agreement. By adopting a Critical Realist (CR) perspective, the analysis also focuses on the enabling, constraining, and motivating structures—or the absences thereof—these events are embedded in, the unique powers of reflexive individuals who break and bend institutional genres, and the semiotic resources they draw upon in the process. Through this innovative approach, the study aims to further the theoretical conceptualization of corruption, its causes, and potential remedies.
Corruption is everywhere, from third world countries to the American Supreme Court. To better understand this problem, Codes of Corruption adds what so far has been missing: Actual dialogues of illicit transactions. We get those dialogues furthermore from a critical realist perspective that embeds them in wider structural and cultural conditions. This book accordingly will go far to enhance our understanding of both corruption and the critical realist perspective.
Douglas V. Porpora, Professor of Sociology, Drexel University
Research on corruption has explored both macro and micro levels, but the depth and sufficiency of focus on micro aspects has tended to focus essentially on perceptions and attitudes towards corruption, neglecting the anatomy of corruption as a criminal offence. This book makes an outstanding contribution to this strand of literature by delving into the discursive and interactional efforts and actions individuals engage in during a corrupt exchange. Drawing from an original corpus of (publicly available) recordings of real-life corruption-related offences (bribery, extorsion, insider-trading, abuse of power, etc.) that took place in Mexico, this book offers an innovative in-depth description and theoretical analysis of several micro aspects of the phenomenon: the type of participants to the exchange, the context in which the corrupt approach takes place, the type of language and non-verbal cues used by the actors involved, the type of institutional power and resources mobilised, the nature of decisional goods at stake, to mention the most relevant. The book is not a mere recollection of real-life situations where “individuals negotiate rules, norms, and procedures fairly flexibly, and to some extent creatively”, but a theory-based explanation as to why individuals engage in corruption offences, including personal motivations and risk calculations, existing opportunity structures that constrain and incentivize corrupt behaviour and moral considerations that enable such interactions to develop and proceed smoothly and conform to social norms and expectations. Dissecting the anatomy of corruption through the lenses of critical realism not only enables to understand how corruption operates and affects various aspects of people’s everyday lives and work experiences, but it also offers important insights about the coping strategies and measures decision-makers, organisations and communities can develop to mitigate such illicit practices. The book is an essential reading for scholars, students entering the field, practitioners, teachers, journalists, and civil society organisations.
Luís Macedo Pinto de Sousa, Principle Researcher at the Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa, former founder and Chair of TI-Portugal and Chair of IPSA/RC20 on Political Finance and Political Corruption