Everyday Corruption and the State

Dr Giorgio Blundo currently holds a senior position at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales at Marseille. Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan is Professor of Anthropology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Marseilles and Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris.

• Part I: Approach, Method, Summary1. Introduction: why should we study everyday corruption and how should we go about it?2. Corruption in Africa and the social sciences: a review of the literature3. Everyday corruption in West Africa4. The popular semiology of corruptionPart II: Sectoral Studies5. Corruption in the legal system6. We don't eat the documents: Corruption in transport, customs and the civil forces7. Corruption and public procurements8. Corruption in the health sectorPart III: Cross-Disciplinary Topics9. An independent republic: Everyday corruption in a Senegalese development co-operation programme10. The war against corruption in Benin, Niger and Senegal: an historical approach

'Everyday Corruption and the State provides an icy critique of the factual shortcomings of a literature over-heated by metaphor, and a demonstration of the systematic, pervasive and institutionalized nature of corruption in three West African states. No-one concerned with developmental issues in Africa can ignore or be indifferent to this evidence of the ways public officials routinely deal with their citizens.' Richard Fardon, SOAS 'This scholarly, insightful book demonstrates in detail many characteristics of the worst kind of corruption.' Bryan Rostron, Tribune 'For anyone interested in working in, studying, or analyzing african states, this text will give significant insights into the difficulties in developing stable state infrastructures...A good addition to serious African and development collections.' R. M. Fulton, Choice