Kautilya’s identification of the “forty ways of embezzlement” in the Arthashastra stands as one of the most sophisticated early articulations of administrative corruption and surveillance in the history of political thought. Far from being a mere catalog of malfeasance, this enumeration offers deep insight into Kautilya’s realist conception of statecraft, his empirically grounded understanding of … Continue reading How does Kautilya’s identification of “forty ways of embezzlement” reflect his understanding of administrative corruption and the mechanisms of state surveillance in Arthashastra?