The Transformation of Anti-Corruption Narratives in the Development of Specialised Criminal Legislation: A Historical Analysis

Authors
  • Suci Rahmadani

    Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Author

  • Nazmul Islam

    Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

    Author

  • Mohd Noor

    University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Author

  • Mohamed Hussein

    International Islamic University Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia

    Author

  • Yasmin Ali

    Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Author

Keywords:
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Abstract

This study examines the historical transformation of anti-corruption narratives in the development of special criminal law in Indonesia, positioning discursive change as a factor that has shaped the legitimacy, regulatory design, and institutional orientation of anti-corruption enforcement. It adopts a normative legal approach within a historical-juridical research design, complemented by a conceptual approach. The findings reveal that corruption has been progressively reframed from an administrative irregularity into an extraordinary crime through a process shaped by shifting configurations of legal politics, public pressure, media discourse, and international norms. This transformation has provided the normative and political legitimacy for the emergence of a specialised criminal law regime characterised by distinctive institutional arrangements, enforcement mechanisms, and legal powers that depart from those of ordinary criminal law. However, an anti-corruption strategy centred predominantly on punitive enforcement is no longer sufficient to address the complexity of contemporary corruption. The study therefore argues for a reconstruction of the anti-corruption paradigm that integrates enforcement, risk-based prevention, asset recovery, institutional integrity, and the protection of human rights within the framework of a democratic rule-of-law state. By conceptualising anti-corruption narratives as historically constitutive elements in the evolution of special criminal law, the study extends existing scholarship. It provides a conceptual foundation for the development of Indonesian anti-corruption policy that is more proportionate, preventive, restorative, and sustainable.

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2026-06-03
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Copyright (c) 2026 Suci Rahmadani, Nazmul Islam, Mohd Noor, Mohamed Hussein, Yasmin Ali (Author)

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The Transformation of Anti-Corruption Narratives in the Development of Specialised Criminal Legislation: A Historical Analysis. (2026). Indonesian Journal of Corruption and Criminal Justice, 1(2), 137-152. https://doi.org/10.65586/ijccj.v1i2.16