corruption in Bangladesh

[Md. Arefin Islam]

Reality of Corruption

The Annotated Bibliography in this Study establishes the reality of corruption as a social phenomenon in Bangladesh. In some 38 works selected and reviewed,
only a few deal with corruption in a general and global context.
All the remaining works in the selection, either implicitly or
explicitly, provide ample evidence that corruption exists as a
process, usually as a form of social, economic or political
exchange, often in an institutionalised form, in the
socio-economic and political life of Bangladesh. It reaches far,
wide and deep: from the senior bureaucracy in the capital city,
to the far-flung corners of the country, from the apex of
political activity to the minute activities of a rural community.

Corruption is not just an economic exchange, generated by a monetary or 'economic' motive. Neither is corruption an exclusively political activity, motivated by a
desire to attain or retain political power. The process of
corruption is more than economic or political - it is a social
process as well, existing side-by-side with, and sometimes
complementing economic and political activity.

As a social process, therefore, corruption is everywhere in Bangladesh. It is present, for instance, in the process of political patronage, and/or the socio-political
institutional arrangement called a patron-client relationship,
through which public resources are appropriated by a select group
of people, usually described as elites; it is visible in economic
exchanges such as the process of rent-seeking which (regulatory
requirements by) public servants impose on players in the market:
also known as ghoosh or bribe; it is visible and invisible
in a host of activities which range from outright bribery to more
subtle forms of patronage or persuasion such as tadbir,
from underhand deals involving vast sums of money at the national
and international levels, to petty, everyday baksheesh
which the doorman at a bureaucrat's office extracts in order to
perform his normal duties.

Yet, as the Annotated Bibliography will also disclose, there is very little objective analysis to explain why and how there is corruption in Bangladesh. This is
not because there are no reasons attributed for corruption. On
the contrary, a majority of works either directly or indirectly
attribute several causes and advance various theories for the
existence and survival of corruption. But attempts to understand
the fundamental social processes which are related to corruption
are notably absent

For instance, the dichotomy of 'good' versus 'evil' is a popular theme in many works - both in those few works (mainly articles and reports) which specifically
address the issue of corruption in Bangladesh, as well as in a
large number of books, journal articles and reports, which make
references to corruption, while examining other issues such as
socio-economic or political events, poverty or development in
Bangladesh. In these works, corruption frequently features as a
vice, caused by human failings such as greed, avarice,
selfishness, self-interest, callousness, and consequently, its
eradication is seen to require actions which are virtuous, such
as nobility, patriotism, dedication, honesty, integrity, zeal,
and so on.

Some works rely on 'modernisation' theory as their basis, implying that countries like Bangladesh have not progressed from a 'primitive' to a 'modern' state of polity and
hence are still showing signs of 'traditional' forms of
organisation, among which corruption features prominently. At the
same time, a number of authors blame capitalism and the quest for
'modernity' as the root causes of corruption. Many blame
politicians, bureaucrats, the state apparatus, regulatory
policies, political upheaval, tradition, culture and western
influences for the prevailing 'high' level of corruption in
Bangladesh. Indeed, although corruption as social process is
difficult - some would say impossible - to measure, many works
allude to 'more' or 'increasing' levels of corruption in this
country.

In other words, while theories abound, only a few works are dedicated to studying corruption as a process, removed from its normative implications. As a reading of the Annotated
Bibliography will confirm, by far and large, wherever the
issue of corruption is discussed - either in passing or as part
of a dedicated section within a work - it is invariably dominated
by its normative impact - as an immoral act or process which has
a negative effect and is thus socially reprehensible.

Which is not to suggest that corruption is in any way socially or otherwise desirable, but only to make the point that there is a notable absence of research on corruption
from an objective, and sociological point of view.

Sociological Perspective

It might be asked, what is a sociological point of view? Sociology is the study of the development, nature and laws of human society. Society, in turn, is a term which
describes a mode of life, and includes a range of interests and
activities, such as process, organisation, structure, human
behaviour, human relationships, customs, and forms. The term
'sociological', therefore, can be fairly widely applied.

To provide an understanding of corruption from a sociological perspective, it would be necessary to examine, explore and critically analyse corruption as a process
of social formation, encompassing corruption in the real world of
social structures, institutions and modes of exchange, and at the
same time, to also locate and reconcile the reality within an
analytical framework which would critically explore the discourse
on corruption.

This Study aims to approach the subject of corruption in Bangladesh from the sociological perspective by critically examining a selection of literature on the subject,
and by seeking through this examination to explore the
fundamental processes of the social formation of corruption in
Bangladesh - both as a reality, as well as expressed in the
literature selected on the subject.

Sociological interpretations must take into account social, political and economic forces, both as societal conditions, as well as rhetorical and historical influences which
inform the discourse on corruption. It is also important to move
beyond dichotomous, normative conclusions and focus instead on
corruption as an exchange, as well as behaviour, process and
outcome. Consequently, the challenge in exploring corruption from
this perspective lies essentially in being able to critically
focus on the subject of corruption as it exists in Bangladesh,
together with the conceptual demands of the dominant discourse on
the subject.

As will be discussed in some detail in this Study, many of the works under review are informed - either implicitly or explicitly - by an ethnocentric, modernising
ideology, which is not necessarily applicable to the reality of
conditions in developing societies like Bangladesh. The
significance of these influences is enormous because they reflect
the dominant discourse on corruption - especially as an issue of
development -- in no uncertain terms.

Corruption as behaviour, process or activity, is impossible to quantify. Consequently, for social scientists the functional argument which focuses on the
'positive' aspects of corruption necessarily provides only a
means of understanding process. Thus, while it might be argued
that corruption functions as a useful mechanism to aid social,
political or economic exchange, the relevance to social science
lies in the process as activity, without reference to its
normative qualities. Consequently, while this Study adopts many
'functional' arguments, it does so in a non-judgemental way, the
aim being to further the understanding of the process by which
corruption takes place in a given situation.

Eliminating Corruption

The ultimate aim of this Study, and presumably of all similar research, is to eliminate corruption in Bangladesh. The question is, how can this be achieved? A popular
notion, reflected to some extent in the Annotated Bibliography,
is to simply stamp out corruption. There is no doubt about the
need to end corruption, but it is worth asking if the solution is
to simply mount an attack on corruption or indeed, as is also
often suggested, on its root cause. Apart from the fact that
there are different points of view on exactly what constitutes
the root cause of corruption, it is also moot to consider that
repeated attempts to do so have not met with success. By all
accounts, Bangladesh is still - perhaps more so now, than ever
before - a corrupt polity, society and economy.

It is concluded in this Study that part of the solution to corruption lies in posing questions which address the fundamental social concepts of corruption as a prerequisite
of all research and especially of any sociological research on
the subject, thus encouraging a more searching and comprehensive
'assault' on the culprit. In other words, before devising
programmes to eliminate corruption we must know a great deal more
about its nature, characteristics and patterns.

It is further concluded that a study of corruption must be more than a piece of evaluation which examines a set of conditions within a predetermined framework. Too often,
developing societies have been subjected to these types of
appraisal and, predictably, have been found wanting. When society
is assessed within a pre-determined framework which is alien to
the problems of the real (Bangladeshi) world, wherein corruption
exists as an institutionalised mechanism of exchange under
specific socio-economic conditions, the existence of any
differences tend to be dismissed as departures from the norm, or
negatively assessed, or even completely misunderstood.

This Study finds a considerable number of works on corruption or related topics to be influenced by predetermined influences. A key conclusion reached by this
analysis therefore, is that there is a need to assimilate an
objective outline of appraisal before undertaking any research on
corruption and/or initiating measures to eliminate it.