Under The Table: An Anthropology of Corruption Podcast

Bribes, Foxes, and Moral Legitimacy-- a talk with Italo Pardo

May 9, 2023

Anthropologist Italo Pardo discusses the interplay between legality, legitimacy, and morality in corruption. Examples include Italy's bribesville scandal, the UK's National Health Service, and ethnographic research with fox hunters. Surprisingly, British anti-corruption efforts lack legislation. The podcast explores challenges faced by entrepreneurs, the perceived illegitimate corruption involving the Labour Party and fox hunting, and the fallout of corruption scandals on trust in democratic institutions.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

Anthropology's Contribution to Understanding Corruption

02:33 • 22min

Challenges faced by entrepreneurs and reflections on the legitimacy of the law

24:16 • 2min

An Example of Legal Corruption and Illegitimate Perception

26:03 • 2min

The Connection Between Legitimacy and Corruption

28:08 • 6min

Perceptions vs. Convictions: The Fallout of Corruption Scandals

34:21 • 10min

Aaron and Sylvia talk with Italo Pardo about the importance of empirically-grounded anthropological studies of corruption. As one of the earliest anthropologists committed to the explicit study of corruption, Italo draws on his work in both Italy and the UK to illustrate his attention to the interplay between legality, legitimacy, and morality. Of particular interest to Italo are those instances of corruption or abuses of power that do not technically break the law, but that do break citizens’ trust. Such legal yet illegitimate forms of corruption are especially insidious as they enjoy the credentials of legality and therefore cannot be punished. We discuss examples of this in the context of Italy’s tangentopoli (bribesville) scandal, the UK’s National Health Service, and in Italo’s ethnographic research with fox hunters. Italo also shares what aspects of British anti-corruption efforts Italians find most surprising: their lack of legislation around corruption!

Some of Italo Pardo's published works include:

2023. Pardo, I. Ed. (with G. B. Prato), The Legitimacy of Healthcare and Public Health: Anthropological Perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Forthcoming

2019. (with G. B. Prato). Legitimacy: Ethnographic and Theoretical Insights. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

2004. I. Pardo ed. Between Morality and the Law: Corruption, Anthropology and Comparative Societies Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. Reprinted by Routledge 2016

Some of Italo Pardo's ongoing activities include:

The book The Legitimacy of Healthcare and Public Health: Anthropological Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan) is now out. The link is: The Legitimacy of Healthcare and Public Health: Anthropological Perspectives | SpringerLin

April 2023. A public lecture on “Politicized Urban Heritage” at the Tbilisi State University, Georgia: https://www.tsu.ge/ka/event/3995 and https://www.facebook.com/internationalurbansymposium.ius

2023 Field Training School and Research Seminar on Urban Research: Theory and Methods: https://www.internationalurbansymposium.com/events/2023-field-training-school

2023 International Conference on Forms of Inequality and the Legitimacy of Governance:https://www.internationalurbansymposium.com/events/2023-2/