'If I receive it, it is a gift; if I demand it, then it is a bribe': On the Local Meaning of Economic Transactions in Post-Soviet Ukraine
Author: Polese, Abel
Source: Anthropology in Action, Volume 15, Number 3, Winter 2008 , pp. 47-60(14)
Abstract:
Challenging the main reports of corruption in Ukraine, this article proposes that most of the 'economic transactions' that are reported as bribe taking have a deeper meaning and can be analysed within the framework of gift exchange proposed by Marcel Mauss. This paper thus focuses on the three alleged most 'corrupted' places in Ukraine: a university, a hospital and a police control post, in order to develop a detailed analysis of the meanings behind these transactions. Furthermore, it examines the particular role that social actors take within these arrangements. Finally, I propose the recognition of a grey zone between corruptions as evident in the ethnographic examples analysed in the course of this paper.Keywords: BRIBE; CORRUPTION; GIFT; ECONOMIC TRANSACTION; HOSPITAL; POLICE; UKRAINE; UNIVERSITY
DOI: 10.3167/aia.2008.150305
The requested document is freely available to subscribers. Users without a subscription can purchase this article.
- Sign in below if you have already registered for online access
Sign in