Research on ?corruption? in the Pacific Islands finds that popular and official opinion differ over what the word refers to, how important it is, why it is wrong, and what can or should be done about it. Perceptions of corruption seem only loosely related to experience, and the invisibility of the phenomenon makes it easy to overestimate and underestimate its incidence. Nevertheless governments and aid donors are busy creating anti-corruption commissions, adopting anti-corruption policies, and trying to evaluate their success.

There is often uncertainty about the objects of policy, and ?interpretivist? or ?constructionist? research tries to uncover the different meanings that people bring to bear on it. The seminar asks about its practical implications ? what should be done differently, in the face of uncertainty, disagreement, anger and invisibility, using corruption as an example? It is ?work-in-progress? for a revision of the last (?so what??) chapter of a book on Understanding Corruption in the Pacific Islands

The Crawford School Research Seminar Series provides a forum for discussion among peers of newly-completed and work-in-progress research. They are normally held on the last Thursday of each month. All Crawford faculty and PhD students are encouraged to attend.