Explaining the causes of bribery from an offender perspective

The chapter begins by placing bribery into context and introduces various
approaches to its definition. Dissatisfied with existing conceptualisations, the
authors introduce an analytical framework that defines three key roles (briber,
bribe and facilitator) and two types of bribery (public and commercial). To illustrate the predatory range of people involved in bribery, an animal analogy is used which categorises individuals into four groups: pack wolves, lone wolves, hedgehogs and sheep. The subsequent section draws on existing criminological theories and the research data to examine the first question, why some people turn to bribery. The discussion then moves on to explore how the corrupt relationship is formed using pathogen theory, an idea borrowed from safety literature (Reason, 2000). The final section draws together and summarises the themes introduced.