CIPE’s programs around the world have always included a strong component focusing on anti-corruption. Today, CIPE works with partners in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Columbia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, the Philippines, and Russia to eliminate corrupt practices at all levels of society.
Anti-corruption is also becoming a critical topic on the ground. In Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is becoming increasingly unpopular as protests and rallies grow in size and ferocity, calling for his removal from office based on insider trading accusations. Thaksin’s popularity rests with the rural population, who support his policies of interest-free loans, free housing, and cheap medical care, while his opponents cite his ineffectiveness in quelling insurgency in the south and his tight reins on media coverage as well as his ongoing issues with corruption.
The problem is that the international focus on corruption has become the equivalent of the magician’s scarf trick: once you realize the scarf is up his sleeve, pulling on it does no good – the scarf keeps coming and coming and coming. Moises Naim, editor of Foreign Policy, wrote in a 2005 editorial:
Corruption has too easily become the universal diagnosis for a nation’s ills. If we could only curtail the culture of graft and greed, we are told, many other intractable problems would easily be solved. Although it is true that corruption can be crippling, putting an end to the bribes, kickbacks, and payoffs will not necessarily solve any of the deeper problems that afflict societies. In fact, this false belief can make it harder, if not impossible, to rally public support for other indispensable efforts. Necessary tax reforms, for example, become impossible to pass when the general assumption is that any new public revenues will inevitably evaporate in corrupt hands.
So how do you reverse corrupt practices without losing focus? One of CIPE’s partners, the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA), seems to have hit upon the solution. ISA is fighting political corruption by creating real and measurable markers by which the public and businesses holds local elected officials accountable for their actions. The program has been very effective, and has spread to more than 20 cities throughout the Philippines. ISA hopes to expand the program to Thailand and Indonesia in 2006.
However, the question remains – does anti-corruption work actually work? Are levels of corruption decreasing? And does a focus on anti-corruption really lead to a less democratic system? I’m inclined to say no. Businesses and governments need to create systems that are fair, transparent, and accountable in order to fortify democratic systems. Corruption impedes the development of markets, drives away investment, increases the costs of doing business, and undermines the rule of law. Although corruption may seem to be an insurmountable obstacle, it is an important topic to tackle in the pursuit of democracy.
Published Date: March 13, 2006