Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, but the cases in this volume demonstrate the great variation in each of those key terms. Those who hold public office certainly have entrusted power, often governed by a foundational document such as a country's constitution and with duties that are clearly defined. But we suggest that many other types of entrusted power are relevant for our understanding of corruption, including power held by those operating in the private sector. In the case of Sepp Blatter at FIFA, we saw how one man's power over an international sporting body can be abused, with implications for global norms in a sphere which prides itself on fair competition (see also Hough & Heaston 2018, for more on this). In the chapters on enablers, we argued that professional services companies specializing in PR, financial or legal services can also have duties that stretch beyond shareholders. They are entrusted to uphold the standards of their professions but, as key service providers to kleptocrats, they all too often abuse that power and ignore these higher responsibilities (see also King & Zavoli 2020, for a good example of the challenges in this regard in the UK property market).

It is self-evident from the case studies that corruption can therefore occur in the private sector as well as the public sector. Indeed, over the past 20– 30 years, the boundary between the public and private sectors has become increasingly blurred in many countries. As the public sector has engaged more in the outsourcing of public services, conflicts of interest have grown and movement through the “revolving door” become more common. The kleptocracy chapters show that oligarchs who buy privatized assets often benefit from straddling the public-private divide. And in the corporate sector, anti-bribery laws encourage us to focus on the role that businesses play in initiating or being complicit in corruption, even if it involves transactions with public officials. Just as the distinction between the public and private sectors has become blurred, so has that between public sector and private sector corruption.

The cases covered in this volume also demonstrate the wide range of ways in which power can be abused.