The Case for Considering Corruption as a Central Element of Governance: Institutional and Organizational Corruption and Complex Corruption Networks

Criminal policy designed to fight against corruption focuses on individual deviant behavior to remove the “bad apples”. The individual approach to the problem is reflected in the norms that are sanctioned and the theories which explain them. This approach is insufficient because it does not address situations where corruption is a central element of the governance model, as a result of becoming a key factor in the decision-making process in public institutions and private organizations at the local, regional, national and international levels. This article analyzes the characteristics and functioning of institutional and organizational corruption and complex (transnational) corruption networks, which are often closely related to each other.