Grant W. Walton a a Development Policy Centre, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Published online: 03 Jul 2014.

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3 The Journal of Development Studies, 2015 Vol. 51, No. 1, 15 31, Defining Corruption Where the State is Weak: The Case of Papua New Guinea GRANT W. WALTON Development Policy Centre, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia Final version received March 2014 ABSTRACT Corruption is often defined as the abuse of public office for private gain. This article suggests that this is inadequate for understanding corruption in weak states and presents two broader definitions of the concept. It discusses findings from qualitative and quantitative research conducted in Papua New Guinea in light of these definitions. Respondents particularly the poor and marginalised saw corruption as tied to the actions of public officials as well as non-state actors. It is argued that applying broader definitions of corruption could help researchers and policy makers better understand citizens concerns about corruption, particularly where the state is weak. 1. Introduction Corruption is often defined as the abuse of public office for private gain (the public office definition); this definition has framed anti-corruption interventions around the world. However, many are sceptical of the importance of this definition for weak states. There is concern that the definition fails to recognise the cultural, economic, and social factors that frame transactions labelled corrupt (Bukovansky, 2006; Gupta, 1995; Haller & Shore, 2005; Harrison, 2007). Most of this critique draws on qualitative empirical evidence from anthropologists (for example de Sardan, 1999; Gupta 1995). Very little research attempts to quantify the various ways citizens in weak states define corruption. This makes it difficult to assess the degree to which people in these countries are concerned about the use and abuse of public and private goods. While research into how corruption is defined by people in weak states is scarce, there are many important reasons why such research should be undertaken. Without understanding public definitions of corruption, anti-corruption practices may be ineffectual (Gardiner, 2008). If citizens are not concerned about corruption they will be less likely to report crimes. Likewise, if the gap in understanding between anti-corruption agencies and citizens is great, misunderstanding, irritation, and poor targeting of anti-corruption campaigns are possible (Larmour, 2006, p. 17). In addition, the way citizens perceive corruption is likely to affect how they behave themselves: if certain nefarious activities are not considered corruption, citizens may be more likely to engage in or support them (although it does not axiomatically follow that words equate to actions). The literature review of this article introduces three definitions of corruption: the public office, abuse of power, and decay definitions. The latter is developed from the corruption literature for this article. The way these three definitions have been drawn upon in writings about Papua New Guinea (PNG) is presented in Section 2. Section 3 outlines the methodology guiding qualitative and Correspondence Address: Grant W. Walton, Crawford School of Public Policy, J.G. Crawford Building (Bld 132), Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. grant.walton@anu.edu.au 2014 Taylor & Francis

4 16 G.W. Walton quantitative research. In Section 4, findings from focus group discussions are presented; this section shows the variety of ways that Papua New Guinean respondents defined corruption. The fifth section shows how respondents evaluated scenarios that represent different definitions, types, and scales of corruption. The conclusion reflects upon what the findings mean for researching and fighting corruption, particularly where the state is weak. Three Definitions of Corruption: Public Office, Abuse of Power, and Decay For some scholars, public opinion differs so much from formal definitions of corruption (like the public office definition) that it is a definition unto itself (Johnston, 1986; Larmour, 2012). Johnston (1986) argues that public opinion overlaps to a limited degree with formal definitions of corruption (in his case the public office definition), but ultimately public opinion is a much broader concept. This article shows, however, that closely examining existing definitions of corruption reveals that public opinion is more closely aligned to formal definitions than often assumed. With this in mind, this section presents three definitions of corruption that cover a wide array of actors and activities. It should be noted that the three definitions do not cover all of the ways that corruption can be defined, but they are useful in understanding public interpretations of corruption. The way these three definitions have been discussed by scholars and others is explored below. The Public Office Definition The most popular definition of corruption both in the academic literature on corruption and in policy documents of development organisations is the abuse of public office for private gain, referred to as the public office definition throughout this article. This definition is sometimes expressed in different ways. For example, in the 1960s Nye suggested that corruption in public office violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private regarding influence (Nye, 1967). Nye s definition is not as catchy as the modern version, but he essentially defined corruption in the same way. Regardless of how definitions of this type are expressed, they have one thing in common: they focus on those working for the state. They link corruption to public officials acting out of private regard. The public office definition relates to the division between the public and private spheres: when the public and private spheres mix, corruption ensues. This conceptual binary is central to the way development organisations and governments understand the problem of corruption in weak states. Unsworth (2010) argues that the policies and programmes of Western aid donors are centrally shaped by rational-legal Weberian principles, in which sources of legitimacy derive from formal rules rather than people s shared beliefs and traditions. In turn, the public office definition appears in a range of policy documents of international donors (for example, World Bank, 1997, 2007). The public office definition also shapes corruption research. For example, Transparency International s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) draws on a range of surveys that asks elites about their perceptions of corruption explicitly in the public sector (Transparency International, 2012, p. 1). Such measures are extremely influential for understanding and addressing corruption; they are drawn on by academics to establish relationships between corruption on variables such as levels of economic growth (Méon & Sekkat, 2005) and inequality (Gupta, Davoodi, & Alonso-Terme, 2002). They can also help determine how development agencies allocate their aid. Surveys designed to measure citizens perceptions about the level of corruption also heavily focus on public officials (The Afrobarometer Network, 2006; Transparency International, 2013). For example, the 2013 Algerian Arab/Afrobarometer survey asks respondents to assess the involvement of public officials including the president, members of parliament, government officials, local government officials, tax officials, and judges in corruption (Arab/Afro-Barometer, 2013). This is also the case for other studies into perceptions about corruption (Allen & Birch, 2012; Independent Commission Against Corruption, 1994; Jackson & Smith, 1996). In their study of the way Australian citizens and politicians interpret corruption, Jackson and Smith (1996) drawing on an

5 Defining corruption where the state is weak 17 approach developed by Peters and Welch (1978) asked respondents to evaluate scenarios that depict public servants (including members of parliament, a mayor, and a judge) engaging in possibly corrupt behaviour. They find that compared to public servants, citizens were more likely to consider all scenarios as highly corrupt. In academic and practitioner studies into corruption, respondents are rarely invited to consider corruption that does not directly involve public officials. This reinforces the notion that corruption is essentially about the abuse of public office. Despite its popularity, many argue that the public office definition does not adequately capture the complexity of state society relations in developing countries, particularly those with weak state institutions. Bukovansky (2002, p. 37) notes that not all societies even draw such a distinction [between public and private], even if they are nominally governed by a state apparatus that has inherited such a distinction from colonial or other external influences. In weak states, relationships maintained by gift giving are often valued more than state rules and laws, making the public office definition of corruption problematic (de Sardan, 1999; Yang, 1994). There is also a question as to whether segregating public and private spheres is a luxury that weak states simply cannot afford. In some countries bureaucrats and state employee providers live and work in the one dwelling, thus blurring the distinction between the public and private spheres in their daily activities. The public office definition is also fraught given the changing structure of the state. The popularity of new public management (NPM) models polices that aim to improve government efficiency through increasing public private partnerships have blurred the distinction between public office and private interest. Dunleavy and Hood (1994, p. 9) report that this approach makes the public sector less distinctive as a unit from the private sector (in personnel, reward structure, methods of doing business). By contrast, they argue that public administration in what they call the progressive era 1 more clearly segregated public and private concerns. As the distinction between public and private is increasingly eroded through NPM-inspired policies, it is (theoretically) possible to argue that corruption (as the abuse of public office for private gain) has increased. Broadening Corruption: The Abuse of Power Definition Acknowledging the role that non-state actors can play in corruption, academics (for example Andersson & Heywood, 2009) and development organisations have, in recent times, drawn upon a broader definition of the concept. In 2000, TI, an influential anti-corruption NGO, changed the way the organisation defined corruption to the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, referred to as the abuse of power definition throughout this article. This change was designed to broaden understandings of corruption from acts that involve one or more state officials to include improper business-to-business activity within the private sector (Holmes, 2006a) and civil society. Holmes (2006b) argues that this definition was devised as a response to the increasing economic and political power of non-state actors. As a corollary, corruption should involve anyone who has been, mostly through formal means, entrusted with power over groups of people. Politicians, businessmen, managers, board members, bureaucrats, clerks, and secretaries are all entrusted with a position of power. They have power entrusted in them by shareholders, the state, employers, voters, and (to a limited degree) consumers and employees. They are granted these powers through processes that legitimise their role. Bureaucrats and board members are employed, politicians elected. Legitimacy comes through law, tradition, procedures, or public will, which enables people to have authority over others. Corruption occurs when this authority is abused for personal gain. The abuse of power definition now features in the policy documents of major development organisations (for example Asian Development Bank, 2004; AusAID, 2007). Yet, as some scholars highlight (Hindess, 2005; Walton, 2013b), this change of definition has done little to transform the operations of anti-corruption organisations. Despite featuring broad definitions in their policy documents, most anti-corruption activity focuses primarily if not exclusively on governments. This change has also had little influence on studies into corruption. As a result, Rose-Ackermann (2007) laments the dearth of information available about private sector corruption. TI s internationally influential bribe payer s index (BPI) is one of the few instruments that seek to address this imbalance.

6 18 G.W. Walton It ranks the likelihood that private companies from rich countries win business abroad by paying bribes. The index is based on a survey that asks businesspeople about bribery between firms and governments and between firms. The 2011 survey found that bribery between companies was considered just as common as bribery between firms and public officials (Hardoon & Heinrich, 2011). While it only asks one question about the incidence of private-to-private bribery, and omits any reference to civil society involvement in corruption, it goes some way towards reflecting the abuse of power definition. The abuse of power definition broadens the meaning of corruption, yet it can still exclude much morally dubious (or corrupt) behaviour. Like the public office definition, the abuse of power definition includes reference to personal gain, a concept that some scholars have criticised. Haller and Shore (2005, p. 6) critique definitions of corruption including a reference to personal gain by presenting the following vignette: When former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl disclosed in 2000 that he had used secret funds to finance his Christian Democratic (CDU) party in the former GDR [German Democratic Republic] he insisted (drawing on the strategically useful IMF [International Monetary Fund] definition) that this was not corruption as he had not made any private or personal gain. Chancellor Kohl s response indicates that definitions of corruption that include private gain fail to acknowledge a great number of activities that may be considered corrupt by those not au fait or comfortable with the public office/abuse of power definitions. Broader Still: Corruption as Institutional and Individual Decay The third way corruption is sometimes defined relates the concept to a form of individual or institutional decay. This is reflected by the online Oxford Dictionary, which defines corruption as a process of decay or putrefaction (Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.). This definition is distinct to the public office and abuse of power definitions in two ways. First, it makes no mention of people in positions of power, unlike the Oxford Dictionary s first definition of corruption, which defines it as dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery (Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.). Second, this definition makes no mention of personal gain. As academic writings highlight, the decay definition is distinct as it focuses on the moral atrophy of individuals and institutions. The individual side of the definition is apparent in Peter Bratsis analysis of corruption in ancient Greece. He argues that the term diaphtheirein, the Greek equivalent for the word bribery, referred to the corruption of the mind by which the ability to make sound judgments and pursue the good has been impaired (Bratsis, 2003, p. 12). In other words, bribery was thought about in terms of individual immorality. Analysing historical narratives about corruption also reveals the institutional side of the decay definition. For example, Machiavelli associated the term corruption (corruzione) to the deterioration of the quality of government, regardless of the reasons (Bratsis, 2003). Similarly, the Enlightenment economist Adam Ferguson ( ) wrote about corruption as a type of progress-induced decline of civic virtue and politics (Hill, 2012). More recently, Bukovansky (2006) drawing on republican theorists such as Quentin Skinner and Machiavelli has argued that the emphasis that republican political thought places on institutional corruption provides a corrective to the limitations of liberal and rationalist discourses offered by scholars and development organisations. There is some evidence that people in weak states understand corruption as individual and institutional decay. Focus groups conducted by the Australian National University in the Solomon Islands found that men were particularly concerned with individual decay, such as drug and alcohol abuse, lying, stealing and infidelity (ANU Enterprise, 2007, p. 59). They also equated corruption with institutional decay, such as customary practices [of] payback killing and tribal fighting (ANU Enterprise, 2007, p. 59). These responses show that corruption does not need to be linked to people in power or necessitate personal gain.

7 Defining corruption where the state is weak 19 The decay definition has not been employed by academics to frame empirical research. However, as this article shows, it can help interpret public opinion on corruption. In sum, while definitions of corruption espoused by development agencies have evolved, scholars, researchers, and development organisations mostly draw on the public office definition. This has led to a type of circular thinking among some scholars and practitioners: corruption is the abuse of public office, research instruments reflect this definition, and the results of this research show that people are concerned about the corruption of public officials. The popularity of this definition is largely due to enduring concerns about state corruption, which is a key concern for economists who consider the public sector less efficient and accountable than the private sector (Rose-Ackerman, 1999; Klitgaard, 1991). Focusing on government in this way overlooks corruption in the private sector and civil society; it also overlooks the individual and institutional aspects of corruption. As some academics remind us, corruption has been (and can be) interpreted more broadly than the public office definition allows. The Context: A Background on Narratives of Corruption in Papua New Guinea 2 Located in the Pacific, just north of Australia, PNG is a socially diverse country. It is home to over 800 language groups, with strong ties between kin. These groups are culturally rich and, with the PNG state weak, provide important social protection for members. Still, PNG faces enormous economic and social challenges. The country s GDP (PPP) in international dollars is 2898, which compares poorly to the $44,598 of Australia and similarly to the Solomon Islands $3,127 (World Bank, 2013a), both close neighbours of PNG. In 1996, 37.5 per cent of the population lived under the poverty line (World Bank, 2013a); recent analysis of a 2009/2010 national household consumption survey suggests that this figure has not declined (Gibson, 2013). Indeed, on most social indicators PNG fares poorly, the country is unlikely to meet any of its Millennium Development Goals by At the same time the country is going through somewhat of a mining boom: in 2011 GDP growth was 9 per cent and in 2012 it was 8 per cent (World Bank, 2013b). Given such poor social indicators, many are concerned that corruption is eroding the benefits of the mining boom. As a result, the nation features a great deal of public discussion about corruption. At the time of the survey that informs this article between January 2008 and December 2011 the daily newspaper, The PNG Post-Courier, featured 1279 news articles containing the word corruption. This outstrips the 549 entries for the term human rights and 646 for poverty. Some of this discussion has been a result of PNG s position on the CPI, with the country ranking poorly on this index since its inclusion in In 2013 PNG was ranked 144 out of 177 countries, with a score of 25 out of 100 (with zero being totally corrupt and 100 being clean). Although most public discourse rallies against the real and perceived threats of corruption, there is also some debate about what corruption is. In a letter to The National, another of PNG s daily newspapers, Oa Lavai asks: do we really know what it [corruption] means and why it has suddenly become the most celebrated word in PNG? What is it in the PNG context? (Lavai, 2009). For most scholars, corruption in the PNG context is connected to the public office definition. This is apparent in writings on nepotism featuring public servants (Payani, 2000), the failure of officials to follow due process (Dorney, 2001; Gosarevski, Hughes, & Windybank 2004; Hughes, 2003), and rent seeking (Hughes, 2004). In his book, Dinnen (2001) notes that: The State is clearly central in the study of illegal practices, including crime. Criminal networks, communal violence, official corruption, and so on, do not exist apart from the State, nor the State from them. Those who seek to understand corruption through a cultural lens also draw on the public office definition. Dix and Pok s (2009) exploration of the misfit between Western-inspired state institutions and cultural norms examines the reasons that political leaders and bureaucrats engage in corruption.

8 20 G.W. Walton They suggest that the wantok system literarily one talk, a system of reciprocity between kinship groups is abused by public servants and politicians, which, in turn, causes corruption. National anti-corruption institutions in the country such as the Ombudsman Commission of PNG (OC PNG), the Public Accounts Committee, and the Attorney General s office focus their investigations on public officials, thus reflecting the public office definition. For example, the OC PNG s mandate primarily involves investigations into wrongdoing by those employed by the state. Indeed, when proposing the Leadership Code PNG s constitutionally mandated code of conduct which is enforced by the OC PNG the Constitutional Planning Committee noted that leaders in the public sector were the focus of their concerns, because persons who hold office in private concerns [ ] are not the servants of the people of the nation (Constitutional Planning Committee, 1974, 3/1). The abuse of power definition is reflected in reports that highlight private sector corruption. In the late 1980s the Barnett Inquiry uncovered numerous examples of corruption in the logging industry; it found instances of private sector operators illicitly dealing with landowners and public officials (Barnett, 1989). Corruption between the transnational mining company Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd. and landowners has also been reported (Marshall, 2001). International development organisations operating in PNG use the abuse of power definition. For example, PNG s largest donor, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID, now referred to as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), defined corruption in this way in their 2007 anti-corruption policy (AusAID, 2007, p. 3). As a chapter of TI, TI PNG also uses the abuse of power definition. Although, as Walton (2013b) highlights, these organisations have made some steps to tackle private sector corruption, in practice they are mostly concerned with corruption in the public sector. While many commentators argue that Papua New Guineans understand corruption differently than Westerners do (Dix & Pok, 2009; Hills, 2000; Kanekane, 2007; Temby, 2007), writings on corruption that reflect the decay definition are difficult to find. There are, however, a few examples in popular narratives about corruption. For example, in a letter to The National newspaper, Felix Mam, writing from the nation s capital Port Moresby, asked: Isn t political and bureaucratic extravagance corruption? He went on to rate the Governor General s visit to a nearby Pacific Island a visit that appeared to be a part of his duty as corrupt (Mam, 2009). The letter suggests that, reflecting the (institutional) decay definition, for at least one reader, corruption relates to extravagantly carrying out state functions, regardless of whether those involved personally benefit or the activity transgresses laws or rules of the state. Despite these conflicting views about how corruption is understood by Papua New Guineans, little research has been conducted into corruption in the country. The following section describes a survey that sought to address this gap. Methodology This article draws on two phases of research undertaken in Papua New Guinea between 2008 and The first phase consisted of qualitative research, which was conducted in the second half of 2008 in four provinces of the country: Southern Highlands, Milne Bay, Madang, and East New Britain. In each of these provinces, 16 local researchers, trained in qualitative research methods, visited two villages: one that was relatively remote and had little access to government services and another closer to urban areas and/or development projects. Respondents were chosen through a quota sampling system to ensure that those of different genders, age, and education levels were represented. A total of 495 people participated across the eight provinces. Each focus group discussion consisted of between 4 and 12 respondents. Table 1 shows that slightly more males participated; most respondents were under 35 years old and had little formal education. The research instrument posed a number of questions about issues related to corruption, of which this article directly draws primarily on responses to two: how do you define corruption/korapsen [the

9 Table 1. Focus group respondents profile Defining corruption where the state is weak 21 Characteristic Percentage Gender Male 56 Female 44 TOTAL 100 Age TOTAL 100 Education Cannot read or write 35 Educated up to year six 36 Year Tertiary, college, technical 7 TOTAL 100 Note: Due to rounding, the sum of all numbers may not add up to 100 per cent (but without rounding they do). latter term is the Tok Pisin, the lingua franca of the country, term for corruption]? and if you can, please give examples of corruption/korapsen. Focus group respondents were also presented with five scenarios, which are described below. The second phase consisted of quantitative research, which was undertaken between 2010 and The research instrument consisted of a questionnaire, which was administered face-to-face to 1825 individual respondents across nine provinces (out of a possible total of 21 province-level divisions, including one autonomous region and the National Capital District): Southern Highlands, New Ireland, Madang, Milne Bay, Eastern Highlands Province, Enga, East Sepik, National Capital District, and West Sepik. These provinces were chosen purposively to ensure a geographical spread of research sites. Within each province, households in urban and rural areas were selected randomly, although remote localities (defined as being 25 kilometres or more from the nearest urban area) were excluded from the possible sample sites. Table 2 shows that most respondents were male, and lived in a household with an income of less than 500 kina per month. Most respondents had some form of education, 29 per cent held a basic level (up to year five) of education, while 24 per cent had an intermediate level (up to year nine) of education. Respondents were evenly split between rural and urban locations; Tok Pisin was the primary language of most, followed by respondents who primarily spoke their native language (Tok Ples) and English (Table 3). In the data analysis stage, the results from each province (including the National Capital District) were weighted according to provincial population size. As a result, when the provinces were all put together in one database, a large population province would have more weight than a small population province. This weighting was proportional to the population totals in each province and means that responses from each province were more accurately represented in the total sample. The questionnaire included nine scenarios, developed to understand how respondents interpreted corruption; this article draws on responses to these scenarios. As Table 4 highlights, these scenarios represent different scales, definitions, and types of corruption. Four scenarios are large in scale, five are small-scale; six represent the public office definition, two the abuse of power, and one the decay definition.

10 22 G.W. Walton Table 2. Key socioeconomic characteristics of respondents Characteristic Percentage Gender Male 56 Female 44 TOTAL 100 Monthly home income (kina) < > TOTAL 100 Educational attainment No formal education 20 Up to five years 29 Up to nine years 24 Up to 12 years 14 Tertiary, college, technical 13 TOTAL 100 Note: Due to rounding, the sum of all numbers may not add up to 100 per cent (but without rounding they do). Characteristic Table 3. Location of respondents Percentage Location Urban 49 Rural 51 TOTAL 100 Province Eastern Highlands 11 Enga 6 East Sepik 6 Milne Bay 11 Madang 11 National Capital District 27 New Ireland 11 Southern Highlands 12 West Sepik 5 TOTAL 100 Language English 14 Tok Pisin 68 Tok Ples 18 TOTAL 100 Note: Due to rounding, the sum of all numbers may not add up to 100 per cent (but without rounding they do). After the scenarios were presented (verbally and in pictorial form), respondents were asked how corrupt, acceptable, and harmful they believed the scenarios to be. In each case respondents were asked to respond on a scale of one to four, with one being totally corrupt, harmful, or unacceptable to four being not corrupt, harmful, or totally acceptable. Respondents were also provided a don t know option, although very few chose this option. This article analyses totally corrupt, harmful, and unacceptable responses in the forthcoming findings section.

11 Table 4. Scenarios presented to respondents Defining corruption where the state is weak 23 Scenario Code Scale Definition Type A contractor hands money to a public servant in order to be favoured in a contract bid A voter accepts an offer to sell his vote to a candidate for 50 kina A logging company gets logging access to customary land by flying customary leaders to Australia and giving them gifts, without consultation with other community members After a large company legally influences politicians, the government passes a law which helps them make greater profits A man is employed as a driver for a government department by his wantok [relation/friend] without going through a recruitment process. He is a safe and reliable driver. A teacher takes pens and note pads from her school stores cupboard to use for her church meetings Electoral workers are provided with food and drink by a candidate A Minister for Defence owns a company with which the Defence Department has a million dollar contract A young woman is drinking homebrew [home-made alcohol] and selling sex CONTRACTOR Large a Public office Bribery VOTER Small Public office Bribery LOGGING COMPANY Large Abuse of power Undue influence LARGE COMPANY Large Abuse of power Undue influence DRIVER Small Public office Nepotism TEACHER Small Public office Embezzlement ELECTORAL WORKER Small Public office Undue influence MINISTER OF DEFENCE Large Public office Conflict of interest HOMEBREW Small Decay b Notes: a While the amount of money involved in this transaction is not indicated, it is assumed that the amount would be of a large scale given the nature of the transaction. b As noted in the literature review, the decay definition features both institutional and individual types. The Homebrew scenario alludes to one aspect of this definition: possible individual decay. Aside from a few exceptions (for example Independent Commission Against Corruption, 1994; Johnston, 1989), most studies ask how corrupt they think particular scenarios are (Jackson & Smith, 1996; Peters & Welch 1978). However, doing so can potentially confuse the desire to express a generalised negative or positive feeling (Independent Commission Against Corruption, 1994). Including acceptability and harm ratings helps overcome this limitation; it allows respondents to express a positive or negative view about the conduct in the scenarios independent of any judgment of corruption. The scenarios and questions were derived from studies into citizen and elite perceptions of corruption (Independent Commission Against Corruption, 1994; Jackson & Smith, 1996; Johnston, 1986; Peters & Welch 1978) and adapted for the local context. The Voter, Logging Company, Large Company, Driver, and Teacher scenarios were also presented to the focus groups (which were undertaken in 2008). Respondents were presented with these scenarios and asked if they type of activity mentioned occurs in PNG and why it does or does not, what they thought about the actors mentioned in the scenarios, and what they believed the consequences of such scenarios would be.

12 24 G.W. Walton Research instruments were translated from English into Tok Pisin. Researchers residing in the provinces in which the research was conducted were engaged to carry out interviews. This meant that researchers could translate the questions into local languages and dialects if required. Focus Group Discussions Findings: Definitions and Examples of Corruption When asked to define and provide examples of corruption, many focus group participants reflected the public office definition. In the words of a male respondent from Madang, corruption included public officials breaking government law, [government] leaders misleading people, and public servants misusing government vehicles. Respondents relayed stories about politicians or local leaders making pornography, getting involved with prostitution, or leaving their wives for younger women. For example, a woman in Southern Highlands province said that corruption is [ ] our leaders going to town and sleeping with women [ ] drinking beer [ ] and leaving their wives. So, for many, it was not only important that politicians and government workers obey state laws or regulations, they were also expected to uphold moral standards. Table 5 shows the types of examples nominated by respondents that fall under the public office definition. Responses also mirrored the abuse of power definition (Table 6). For example, in Madang province many equated corruption with the operations of the nearby business Ramu Agri-Industries Limited. They suggested that this privately run company engaged in nepotism, with employees hired based upon their personal connections rather than merit. There were also suggestions that private sector organisations were corrupt due to excessive rent seeking. For a man in his twenties in Madang, corruption was about businessmen thinking of making profits. Non-profit organisations, like the church, were also seen to engage in corruption. In East New Britain, a few respondents suggested, in hushed tones, that the local clergy embezzling church funds was an example of corruption. Table 7 shows how responses resembled the third definition of corruption, the decay definition. There was a strong link between corruption and individual decay for respondents. This included lying, Province Table 5. Examples of the public office definition by province Examples cited Southern Highlands Bribery of government officials, abuse of the wantok system leading to nepotism in government, local and national political leaders misusing public funds, poor leadership by local and national leaders, and electoral fraud Madang Government leaders and politicians abusing their power and breaking the law, misuse of public vehicles and property, political leaders supporting prostitution, politicians getting more wives, bribery for votes, and teachers stealing from schools Milne Bay State officials and leaders misleading people, misappropriation of funds from the government, and the misuse of public money East New Britain Government workers misusing government funds, political leaders abusing their power, and poor political leadership Table 6. Examples of the abuse of power definition by province Province Examples cited Southern Highlands Nepotism in private businesses, and businesses (such as mining companies) not fulfilling obligations to the community Madang Businessmen unethically making profits, divisions in the church leading to misallocation of funds, nepotism in the private sector, and logging companies destroying the environment Milne Bay Misappropriation of funds from the church, stealing from boss/church/trade store East New Britain Stealing or misusing church funds, and underpayment for employment by business or government

13 Table 7. Examples of corruption as decay by province Defining corruption where the state is weak 25 Province Examples cited Southern Highlands People being drunk, conflict, jealousy, rape, stealing, adultery, destruction of homes, no love, violence, prostitution, inflation, and government not functioning well Madang Rape, violence, stealing, adultery, making and drinking of alcohol, drugs, making people unhappy, the misuse of the wantok system, and lying Milne Bay Fighting, telling lies, having a bad attitude, not working to ones capabilities, shooting a cow, conflict, and a lack of development East New Britain Disorderly behaviour, not disciplining family members, child abuse, prostitution, rape, violence, having a bad attitude, and dishonesty gossip, prostitution, womanising, making and drinking homebrew, and other morally dubious activities involving citizens. For women in the Southern Highlands province, corruption was personal. It meant arguments and fights, drunk people in public places like the market, bad thoughts, jealousy, rape cases, and disrespect, adultery, no love, no homes and loss of life. These outcomes of corruption were inextricably tied up with the meaning of the term. Whether the perpetrators of these acts held legitimised positions of power was, by and large, not the issue. Indeed, only a few women in the Southern Highlands province connected the term corruption to leaders. Violent men whether they were brothers, husbands, or strangers were the perpetrators they were mostly concerned about, regardless of the position they held. Respondents also equated corruption to institutional decay (Table 7). In Southern Highlands province, respondents spoke of corruption as poor government standards, while those in Milne Bay considered corruption as the lack of government services in their area. In Madang, one respondent said that corruption occurs when the wantok system benefits particular individuals more than the community as a whole. Notwithstanding these examples, most respondents reflected the individual side of the decay definition (which is why the scenario featured in the quantitative survey reflects the individual aspect of this definition). Findings from the Quantitative Study This section draws on responses to nine scenarios that reflected different definitions, types, and scales of corruption (see Table 4). Figure 1 shows that the highest proportion of respondents considered the Homebrew scenario strongly corrupt, harmful, and unacceptable. The Voter and Logging Company were the next most popular examples of corrupt, harmful, and unacceptable behaviour. The Teacher, Driver, and Large Company scenarios were least likely to be considered malfeasant. Overall, respondents were more likely to label an activity unacceptable than corrupt or harmful. This suggests that although respondents did not consider a scenario corrupt it did not necessarily mean that they approve of it. The difference between corruption, harm, and unacceptability suggests that many need to be convinced unacceptable acts also cause harm and are corrupt. This may indicate a key challenge for policy makers: to get citizens to resist corruption may require convincing them that various types of corruption are unacceptable and harmful. The scale of the scenarios did not influence responses. This is highlighted by Figure 2, which averages totally corrupt, harmful, and unacceptable responses by the scale of the transaction. Small-scale transactions (the Voter, Drive, Teacher, Electoral Worker, and Homebrew scenarios) are compared to large-scale transactions (Logging Company, Large Company, Minister of Defence, and Contractor scenarios). It shows very little difference in responses to scenarios of different scales. Figure 3 suggests that responses were, in part, shaped by the definition of corruption the scenarios reflected. In this graph, the decay definition (represented by the Homebrew scenario), public office definition (an average of the Contractor, Voter, Driver, Teacher, Electoral Worker, and Minister of

14 26 G.W. Walton Figure 1. Totally corrupt, Totally harmful, and Unacceptable responses. Figure 2. Comparison of responses of Totally corrupt by scale. Figure 3. Comparison of responses of Totally corrupt, Totally harmful, and Unacceptable by definition.

15 Defining corruption where the state is weak 27 Defence), and the abuse of power definition (an average of the Logging Company and Large Company) are compared. The decay definition was found to be corrupt, harmful, and unacceptable for a significantly higher proportion of respondents. Respondents were slightly more concerned that scenarios reflecting the abuse of power definition would cause harm. When it came to assessing the scenarios in terms of their degree of unacceptability and corruption, little separated the public office and abuse of power definitions. The fact that the protagonists were in a position of power likely linked these scenarios in respondents minds. So, for respondents, scenarios that reflected the decay and abuse of power definitions were as, if not more, corrupt, harmful, and unacceptable than those that mirrored the public office definition. The scale of the activity did not significantly shape responses. Definitional Alignment by Location, Gender, Income, and Education The following analysis examines how different respondents reflected the three definitions of corruption. It compares how different groups urban/rural, male/female, high/low earners, and highly/lowly educated rated the Homebrew (an example of the decay definition), Voter (an example of the public office definition), and Logging Company (an example of the abuse of power definition) scenarios. These scenarios were considered the most corrupt, harmful, and unacceptable. Table 8 shows the percentage of respondents who judged these scenarios as totally corrupt and shows the levels of statistical significance. The scenario representing the abuse of power definition (Logging Company) was considered more corrupt by men and those with higher levels of education. The Voter scenario (representing the public office definition) was most likely considered unacceptable by urbanites, men, and those with higher levels of education. The scenario representing the decay definition (Homebrew scenario) was likely to be considered unacceptable by those on lower incomes, and by women. So those who are more enfranchised within society are more likely to reflect the public office definition. This is likely due to these groups better understanding the rules and laws of the state. Those in urban areas with higher incomes have better access to the media, which frequently run stories about corruption and other illegal activities. Education facilitates awareness about how the electoral system should function, as well as citizens rights and responsibilities. Table 8. Characteristics of totally corrupt responses Characteristic Logging Company Voter Homebrew Location Urban 61% 69% 70% Rural 61% 57% 69% Significance n.s n.s. Gender Male 66% 64% 67% Female 54% 56% 72% Significance Monthly home income (kina) % 61% 73% >501 59% 63% 58% Significance n.s n.s Educational attainment Up to Intermediate (year nine) 57% 56% 68% High school to university 71% 73% 70% Significance n.s. Note: Significance based on chi squared statistics for four cell tables.

16 28 G.W. Walton Given that women can embody marginalisation in PNG, it is not surprising that women were far less likely to consider the Voter scenario corrupt than males were. In PNG, women s marginalisation mirrors that of the poor. According to the 2000 Census, women in PNG had lower education, literacy, and wage employment rates than males had (Rannells & Matatier, 2005, p. 247). They are also poorly represented in politics: the 2012 elections saw three women elected to the National parliament (out of a possible 111 seats), which, along with the 1977 election, was the highest number of women ever elected to parliament since the first general election in 1964 (Sepoe, 2002; True, Niner, Parashar, & George, 2012) 3. In PNG, marginalisation is a product of low income and, more broadly, as championed by Amartya Sen (1999), the denial of social, economic, and political capabilities. Both men and women are denied the opportunities to fulfil their capabilities, but it is women who are most often marginalised. Marginalisation shaped responses to the scenarios in the focus groups. Respondents, particularly women and those in poorer villages, said that the Voter scenario could be beneficial if it enfranchised everyone in the community. For example, one man from Southern Highlands province said the transaction should be welcomed if it benefits the entire community. A woman from the Southern Highlands province said that the candidate is to be blamed as he is doing it secretly, which is not good. If he comes openly and lets the community leaders know, then that s good. In the midst of poor state services and governance, respondents said that such a scenario is to be welcomed if everyone benefits and the transaction is carried out transparently. So, respondents without the wherewithal to understand the laws and rules of the state, and those marginalised economically and socially, could justify the Voter scenario. Those less enfranchised have come to depend upon the illicit distribution of state benefits. This has in turn shaped their understandings of corruption. Conclusion The literature review of this article highlighted how some scholars and development agencies heavily rely upon the public office definition to understand and combat corruption. This group tends to emphasise the universality of corruption perceptions, which is reinforced by research that draws on the public office definitions. On the other hand, those critical of this normative position, particularly anthropologists and political scientists, suggest that citizens in weak states have a very different understanding of the concept. Findings from the survey suggest that most people in PNG understand corruption as being connected to the state, but are most concerned about corruption by non-state actors. Responses from focus groups showed how corruption was tied to a wide variety of activities involving public officials, citizens, and business people. Findings from the quantitative research showed that scenarios reflecting the decay and abuse of power definitions were strongly considered corrupt, unacceptable, and harmful. So to understand corruption in weak sates there is a need to engage with societal perceptions and experiences of the state (as Gupta, 1995 suggests), as well as with perceptions about and experiences with non-state actors. Such research could ask how citizens experience nepotism or bribery in government, the private sector, and civil society, and what costs (to the organisation, individual, community, and state) are associated with transactions in these spheres. Engaging with such questions opens up new vistas for academic research into corruption. Non-state actors play an important role in the provision of public and private goods in weak states. In some areas of PNG, the private sector acts as a pseudo-state, with mining and logging companies providing traditional state functions. As the survey highlighted, the Logging Company scenario is familiar to many Papua New Guineans. Scenarios like it have resulted in poor environmental and economic outcomes in the country (Barnett, 1989). Similarly, with churches long playing a state-like role in the country, it is not surprising that some in the focus groups associated corruption with churches. In areas where non-state actors are more active than the state, broader definitions of corruption are important for understanding local concerns and identifying the types of corruption that are likely to prevail. In other words, broader definitions of corruption are more important where the state is weak (narrower definitions are therefore more important where the state is strong), as these