The World of Whistleblowing: From the Altruist to the Avenger

This exploratory study investigates the world of whistleblowing. The topic has produced a great deal of discussion but little clear understanding of the contexts in which whistleblowers act or the paths they follow, or even a critical understanding of whistleblowing as a social and legal practice. The study articulates some of these boundaries through a mixed-method analysis. The authors reviewed extant quantitative data and conducted a series of interviews in order to be able to sketch a plausible picture of the current state of whistleblowing. The results were used to construct a typology of whistleblowers that provides a conceptual shorthand for the goals, motivations, and contexts that define whistleblowing.