Is corruption, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? Is it a matter of perception? In a democratic political system elected legislators exercise sovereignty on behalf of the people, according to John Locke. How does corruption appear in the sovereign eyes of legislators? This is the broad question at hand.

In part I we consider three approaches to the conception of corruption, placing emphasis on collective perceptions as a defining feature. Next in part II we outline the empirical study undertaken. It involved interviewing more than 100 Australian state parliamentarians about their perceptions of corruption in ten case studies. Part III outlines the findings of this research in comparison with similar exercises in both the United States and Canada. Finally, in part IV conclusions are drawn about how corruption is perceived in the New South Wales parliament, and some suggestions about anti-corruption policy are mooted.