Case studies

The CSC Case Study Template: Corruption Case Studies

This site is a repository of information about how to use the CSC Case Study Template, and of case studies that can be downloaded by students and researchers.

 The faculty at the Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC) have developed the CSC Case Study Template for use in teaching and research.  It has been extensively field-tested amongst students and forms the basis for an entire module of our online MA in Corruption & Governance. 

Case studies are a widely used tool in campaigning and policy-making, both in relation to corruption and other subjects.  In an educational context, they are perhaps most frequently and systematically used in business schools, with the Harvard format being widely recognised as an effective device for practical analysis.  The CSC Case Study Template is designed to allow a systematic analysis of a case; a judgement to be made as to whether it is or is not a case of corruption; and the presentation of information in a readable form that has multiple end-uses, including policy-making, advocacy, campaigning and education. 

We believe the CSC Case Study template offers a useful approach to anti-corruption problem-solving.  The theory behind this approach is simple: if you have a good understanding or diagnosis of the problem, you are more likely to find a solution; and the diagnosis needs to examine a case from angles that include the harm, the benefits, the enabling environment, systems failures and the effectiveness of penalties.  The CSC Case Study Template is designed to give such a description of a corruption problem, combining a concise narrative with a rigorous analysis from all angles, including the problem of how it came to happen.   

The template:

  • Provides a systematic analysis of a case of corruption
  • Describes and analyses the case in a manner that can be used for campaigning, educating, advocacy or policymaking
  • Draws out key insights 
  • Combines practical and academic approaches
  • Gives students and researchers a tool they can use to analyse any case of corruption – including determining whether it is actually a case of corruption.

 Case Studies: 

Understanding Corruption: how corruption works in practice

Barrington, R., Dávid-Barrett, E., Power, S., Hough, D. (2022).  Understanding Corruption: how corruption works in practice.  Newcastle upon Tyne: Agenda Publishing.

Corruption is known to be a complex problem, and understanding corruption in its many forms and global reach is the work of many years. This books tells the story of how corruption happens in practice, illustrated through detailed case studies of the many different types of corruption that span the globe.

Written by an expert team, each case study follows a tried and tested analytical approach to understand the different forms of corruption (bribery, political corruption, kleptocracy and corrupt capital) and how to tackle them.

With an emphasis on the harm such corruption causes, its victims, and where it has been tackled successfully, the authors draw lessons from the case studies to build a picture of the global threat that corruption poses and the responses that have been most effective.