Risk of corruptive behaviour in state institutions on the example of the Customs Office in Poland: theoretical and methodological assumptions of sociological studies

Abstract

The paper is an attempt to outline a coherent methodological framework fostering a more sociologically informed perspective on the problem of corruption risk as it is typical of the functioning of state institutions in Poland. The approach is based upon the concept of a ‘corruption event’ which combines agential dispositions to take part in corrupt exchanges as well as their structural and systemic determinants. In this way, assuming the theory of social becoming as a starting point, the postulated methodology investigates the problem of corruption from the theoretical perspective of sociologies aiming to provide a holistic and synthetic ontology whose objective is to overcome the dichotomy between agency and structure.