By Fernando Forattini

This brief brief article intends to to demonstrate some of the problems with the main theories on corruption and introduce the reader to the new field of Anthropology of Corruption, a type of of research that tries to understand one of the most pressing issues nowadays through a nonbinary point of view, but trying to to understand the root of of corruption, and its its multifaceted characteristic, especially through its cultural aspect; and why it is, contemporarily, the most it is, the most effective political-economic political-economic discourse discourse – - most most at at the the times used in a populistic fashion, at the the expense of of democratic institutions. Therefore, we we will will briefly analyze the three main theoretical strands on corruption and point at some of its faults; then indicate to the reader what are the main goals Anthropology of Corruption, and what questions it seeks to answer; of and, and, finally, the the political impact that corruption discourses have on society, and its perils when on its instrumentalized in populistic discourses.

Academia Letters, Article 2245.. 2024