So what really is the problem about corruption?

The past five years have seen a torrent of writings, pronouncements, warnings, statements of intent, programmes of action and suchlike by a range of agencies both national and international on the theme of corruption and what to do about it. Paralleling the outpouring of public utterances, social scientists have also addressed themselves to analysing the phenomenon and reflecting upon its apparent causes. Not infrequently these analyses have been centred around the notion of the neo-patrimonial state and by implication its converse, some loosely conceived 'modern' state. By means of an exploration of the nature and extent of neo-patrimonialism in both less developed (LDCS) and developed (DCs) countries, this article suggests that not only is the underpinning dichotomy merely descriptive and therefore analytically unproductive, but the consequent policy implications may be both misplaced and inappropriate.