6 Steps to Tackle Government Corruption

Elected representatives in the United States swear to protect the Constitution from enemies, whether foreign or domestic. If they are corrupt, they become the enemies within, often bullying government employees, contractors, and the public they swore to serve. It is fitting to consider the admonition of the first president of the U.S., George Washington, as Americans celebrate his birthday on February 20th:

“It is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.”

Source: Debbie Peterson/heyjasperai

The question of how to prevent and dislodge political elites guilty of white-collar crimes is of international concern. Corruption scholars and practitioners note that programs based on assumptions arising from traditional theories are not reducing corruption.

Economist Dr. Kendra Dupuy and psychologist Siri Neset, advisors with the Chr. Michelson Institute Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, are looking to cognitive psychology for sustainable ways to beat corrupted elected representatives. Their report, “The Cognitive Psychology of Corruption” (2018), explores the existing evidence base of behavioral economics and the psychology of corruption to consolidate the evidence and point to workable solutions.

Dupuy and Neset suggest the following practices to protect against political insider corruption:

1. Trust your eyes and compare notes with others.
2. Wise up to weasel words, aka rationalization.
3. Review and report—audit local government meetings.
4. Who do you serve? Is power for self-enrichment or a way to serve others?
5. "Not for sale.” Know the character traits of people who are incorruptible.
6. Beat the bully. Dupuy and Neset find that several studies support Tepper’s (2010) recommendation that the abuse of power is curtailed when people are provided with skills to confront and report corrupt officials.

If citizens have verified corruption after applying the steps above—trusted their and others’ perceptions, detected their own and others’ rationalizations of unethical behavior, audited the behavior of elected officials, evaluated how they and the officials view power, know who is not for sale, and find wrongdoing—what skills do they need to confront corrupt officials?

Some of the relevant skills are outlined in an article by psychologist Roni Weisberg-Ross, “How Do You Stand Up for Yourself to Stop Bullying?” These actions are designed to thwart young bullies, but they may also help minimize the damage caused by corrupt government officials or others who participate in white-collar crime. They can be effective both in public meetings and in less formal confrontations.

• Stand up to the perpetrator(s) calmly and confront their behavior rationally while asserting your rights.
• Don’t attack; simply calmly and self-assuredly stand up.
• Don’t give bullies reason to escalate by engaging in a heated or emotional manner.
• Don’t play into their behavior by trying to appease them.
• Let the person know by your reaction that you are not cowed. Take away their power by refusing to engage in their game.

If you call them out on their actions, they usually have no place to go—especially if others are witness to these actions.

These suggestions may not entirely stop grown-up bullies from being mean and vindictive. They can, however, impede corrupt behavior, and as George Washington suggested, this is best done immediately to prevent corruption from becoming entrenched.