CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST, CORRUPTION OR (SIMPLY) SCANDALS - THE OSLO CASE1989-91

The unprecedented municipal corruption scandals that occurred in Oslo in 1989-91 illustrate the contrasts and interrelationships between pub licly-perceived scandal and actual corruption. What was depicted at th e time as massive corruption has resulted in no convictions of politic ians; on close examination the corrupt behavior appears to have been l imited in both significance and scope, though official reports do sugg est the possibility that more serious wrongdoing may have occurred. Th e case illustrates not only the mechanisms by which scandal is propaga ted, but also the contrasts between legalistic and other definitions o f corruption. Analysis of four possible categories of corrupt behavior shows the difficulties of applying legalistic definitions to actual p ractice, and offers a clearer understanding of how corruption and scan dal can diverge so sharply.