This collection investigates how various societies and polities throughout history have defined legitimate power through the lens of anti-corruption efforts and the mechanisms they established to enforce these standards. The editors, Kroeze et al., compile a series of individual and comparative case studies that examine the evolution of corruption as a political concept. By analyzing diverse historical contexts, the text argues that the fight against corruption has been a central, albeit shifting, component of state-building and political legitimacy across different eras and regions.

Scholars and historians identify this collection as a foundational resource for understanding the long-term development of anti-corruption discourse. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a rigorous reference for students of political history and governance.