Under The Table: An Anthropology of Corruption Podcast · Aaron Ansell and Sylvia Tidey

Audit Culture and Dirty Elites: A Talk with Cris Shore (9/10/2024)

·1 hr 29 min·5 clips

Chris Shore argues the World Bank's corruption definition hides private sector misconduct, calling it a 'conspiracy of silence'.

This episode of Under The Table features an interview with Cris Shore, a professor of social anthropology known for pioneering anthropological studies of corruption in elite Western contexts. Hosts Aaron Ansell and Dr. Sylvia Tidey engage Shore on his decades of research into how corruption is defined, studied, and combated. Shore's work critically examines anti-corruption efforts within powerful institutions like the European Union, major corporations, and universities. Shore describes discovering a "parallel system" of informal networks and "mafia groupings" within the EU's bureaucracy during his fieldwork in Brussels. He critiques the standard definition of corruption as "the abuse of public office for private gain" for excluding misconduct in the private sector. The discussion covers the "growth of the anti-corruption industry," exemplified by firms like KPMG selling risk-management services to universities. Shore references Stephen Sampson's concept of "integrity warriors" and the high cost of anti-corruption conferences. He analyzes how figures like China's President Xi Jinping have used anti-corruption campaigns to consolidate political power. A key insight is that corruption is difficult to study directly, akin to the myth of Perseus avoiding Medusa's gaze by using a reflective shield. Shore argues anti-corruption measures often serve to "create new markets" for auditing firms rather than address real problems. He connects this to the rise of "audit culture," where accounting principles govern organizations, justified by demands for transparency. The episode notes the paradox that as trust in professions declines, power shifts to massive auditing firms, which themselves have been implicated in industrial-scale tax evasion schemes like the Panama Papers. The conversation explores how definitions of corruption are politically loaded and historically variable, with actions once considered "greasing the wheels" now deemed bribery. Shore questions whether Western bureaucratic ideals create the very concept of corruption they seek to eradicate. The hosts and guest examine the unintended consequences of audit culture, such as universities implementing fraud hotlines that mostly receive complaints about management bullying. The tone is academic and conversational, flowing from personal fieldwork anecdotes to broader theoretical critiques of neoliberalism and governance. The style is exploratory, with the hosts prompting Shore to elaborate on concepts from his edited volumes like "Corruption: Anthropological Perspectives." Listeners interested in the anthropology of power, critical studies of bureaucracy, or the hidden workings of elite institutions will find this episode compelling. Those seeking simple narratives of "good versus evil" in corruption or concrete policy solutions may find its theoretical and skeptical approach less engaging.

As heard by us

A measured look at corruption, anti-corruption, and the institutions that keep reshaping both.

The discussion treats corruption as something more slippery than a slogan, moving from elite institutions to anti-corruption reforms and the anthropology of studying upward.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want corruption explained through elites, anti-corruption, and the institutions around them.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Under The Table: An Anthropology of Corruption Podcast