Beneath the System: Everyday Encounters with Corruption and Arbitrary Rule

R. Kumaran

Abstract: The paper argues for the need to develop alternative perceptions of corruption, based on the experience of corruption of poor and marginalized communities, who perhaps are the single largest category of people affected by corruption, yet whose experiences of corruption remain largely undocumented. The author seeks to redefine corruption to include the arbitrary exercise of power, establishing, with examples, the impact that this has on lives of people living in poverty.

Keywords: Corruption, Governance, Life-History, Poverty, Globalisation, Development