Bishops Who Live Like Princes: Bishop Tebartz-van Elst and the Challenge of Defining Corruption. (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Albisu Ardigó, Iñaki; Hough, Dan
• Is Part Of: Public integrity. Volume 20:Number 1(2018)
• Page Start: 64
• Page End: 79
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: corruption -- definitions -- Germany -- interdisciplinarity; Civil service ethics -- United States -- Periodicals; Public administration -- Moral and ethical aspects -- United States -- Periodicals; Political ethics -- United States -- Periodicals; Civil service ethics -- Periodicals; Public administration -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Periodicals; Political ethics -- Periodicals; Civil service ethics; Political ethics; Public administration -- Moral and ethical aspects; United States; PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION; CIVIL SERVICE; MORAL ASPECTS; POLITICAL ETHICS; Periodicals; 172
• DOI: 10.1080/10999922.2016.1243001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1099-9922

Abstract

Abstract : This article contributes to the debate on defining corruption. Rather than attempting to provide a definitive definition, it uses the case of Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, a German bishop from the diocese of Limburg who stepped down in 2014, to illustrate that the disciplines of law, political science, economics, and anthropology all make important contributions to understanding what corruption is and how it should be conceptualized. Seen through these different lenses, the article argues, the case of "Bishop Bling" can be understood in strikingly different ways. This has ramifications not just for the case itself but also for how analysts understand corruption more broadly. Adopting an overtly interdisciplinary approach does not represent a way to "solve" the definitional dilemma, but it can help analysts understand more about corruption's multiplicity.