21 August 2025. ‘Corruption in Cowboy Culture?’ A Beehive Seminar with Kanti Pertiwi

Corruption in Cowboy Culture? Making sense of corruption and national identity, Australia and Indonesia 1996-2021

2-3pm, Melbourne Law School

Kanti Pertiwi, Kathleen Fitzpatrick Visiting Fellow

This paper examines the intersection of corruption, national identity, and global corporations through the lens of a high-profile bribery scandal involving the Australian company Securency. Jointly owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia, Securency was implicated in making payments to foreign agents, including in Indonesia, to facilitate the printing of national currency. By analyzing media coverage from 1996 to 2021, this paper explores how the national identities of Australia and Indonesia were constructed in relation to this scandal, emphasizing the role of global anti-corruption discourse. This discourse, often framed by Western powers and international institutions, plays a pivotal role in shaping perceptions of corruption and "cleanliness" in countries like Indonesia, typically seen as "corrupt," and Australia, which is perceived as "clean." Drawing on theories of national identity as an imagined community (Anderson, 1991; Bhabha, 1990), this study highlights how corruption is relationally defined and how media representations influence both national self-perceptions and international reputations. By examining these dynamics, it critiques the global anti-corruption industry’s role in reinforcing Western-dominated narratives of corruption and hopes to contribute to broader debates on the power of multinational corporations and international regimes in shaping state identities and governance practices.

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