CORRUPTION

New Methods to Engage Civil Society in Macedonia and Change Attitudes Towards Corruption
New Methods to Engage Civil Society in
Macedonia and Change Attitudes Towards
Corruption
Dr. Dale Mineshima-Lowe 1
Center for International Relations; Birkbeck, University of London
In contemporary discussions about corruption, the promotion of citizen participation, increasing
transparency, and examining strength of and trust in institutions have long been acknowledged
as cornerstones for embedding and consolidating democracy. Corruption is commonly seen as a
problem of both developing and developed countries, hence the move by many governments to
take a more proactive role in the development of strategies to stamp out corruption where it exists. In
particular, rising democracies have found it particularly challenging to balance economic and political
developments. Where a country is poor and suffers from weak institutions, corruption has gained a
foothold, infiltrating these fledgling democracies, becoming more difficult to ferret-out, and get rid of it
at later stages of democratic consolidation.
International Affairs Forum
As the numerous Transparency International (TI) global corruption barometers have listed, levels
of corruption have been particularly highlighted in transitional states and fledgling democracies
where consolidation of democratic institutions and practices are weak or incomplete. Not only is
the existence of corruption problematic but, in particular, the larger impact this has on issues of
transparency and trust in governments and government institutions by citizens. One such instance
can be seen as the impetus for the development of a new project in Macedonia. Transparency
International’s 2010 global corruption barometer 2 illustrated how Macedonia’s population saw
corruption as a major problem, claiming that institutions were corrupt, these results were based
on citizen experiences (and not just perceptions). There was a feeling that failure to address and
demonstrate significant progress in fighting corruption 3 was linked to apathy amongst the populace,
further undermining trust in officials and institutions, and entrenching a feeling that the country lacked
any real accountability to protect citizens and their rights.
To counter how corruption has been undermining democracy within Macedonia, Transparency
International Macedonia undertook the development of a project to allow citizens to report allegations
of corruption experienced or observed. The Transparency Watch-Macedonia (TW-M) project 4 has
focused on taking steps to address the experiences and perceptions of corruption within the country,
through engaging the citizenry as a means of monitoring, identifying, and combating corruption. The
project, started in 2011, was the first of its kind within the region and also within the Transparency
International movement. An important feature of the project is its use of the Transparency Watch
website (www.prijavikorpcija.org) where citizens are able to file an online form, send an email, or
call TW-M directly. As technology has progressed, the use of mobile technology and social media
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