Review of anti-corruption strategies Rob McCusker - Australian ...

Heidenheimer A & Johnston M (eds) 2002. Political corruption: concepts and contexts, 3rd ed. London:
Transaction Publishers
This book incorporates recent work on economic, cultural, and linguistic dimensions of the problem
of political corruption and provides critical analyses of approaches to reform. Two-thirds of the nearly
fifty articles are especially written or translated for this volume, or based on selected journal literature
published in the 1990s. The tendency to treat corruption as a synonym for bribery is illuminated by
analyses of the diverse terminology and linguistic techniques that distinguish corruption problems in
the major languages. Recent attempts to measure corruption and to analyse its causes and effects
quantitatively are also critically examined. New contributions emphasise corruption phenomena in Asia
and Africa, contrasts among region and regime types, the incidence US state corruption, European
Party finance and corruption; assessments of international corruption rating’s, analyses of international
corruption control treaties, and unintended consequences of anti-corruption efforts.
Johnston M & Kpundeh S 2002. Building a clean machine: anti-corruption coalitions and sustainable reform.
World Bank Institute working paper 28639. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/WBI/Resources/wbi37208.pdf
This paper argues that social action coalitions, linking public and private actors, are a way to mobilise
participation and advocacy. In Part I, the paper employs Wilson’s (1973) analysis of the incentives that
motivate and reward participation in organisations. This approach helps the paper to identify ways
in which the anti-corruption goals can be augmented by other kinds of appeals, even when material
incentives are scarce. The report also identifies four stages of the coalition-building process-formation,
credibility, expansion, and transformation, in which differing combinations of incentives will be necessary
to address the group’s most important problems and opportunities. In Part II, the paper examines two
important coalition building efforts in light of the discussions thus far – Ghana’s Anti-Corruption Coalition,
and the Bangalore Agenda Task Force in Bangalore, Karnataka State, India. In Part III, the paper links
those cases to a broader analysis, suggesting that while purposive incentives are common in the early
phases of all coalitions, other varieties must be added to the mix. Wilson’s scheme points to ways in
which the imaginative use of incentives can aid the transition from one phase of coalition development to
the next. The paper concludes with general strategic issues, suggesting ways in which their analysis can
be applied to those questions given the important variations to be found among cases.
Keuleers P 2002. Corruption in the Lao PDR: underlying causes and key issues for consideration.
Bangkok: UNDP
This paper provides a general overview of the situation in some of the key governance sectors in Laos
and describes the weaknesses in the administrative, social and political systems that allow corruption.
The paper shows that meaningful work has been done by the government, with support of the donor
community, to implement state management reforms. But it is also obvious that there are powerful
pockets of resistance to change, cultural obstacles and other impediments that explain the difficulties
encountered when tackling the roots of the corruption problem.
Lai A 2002. Building public confidence in anti-corruption efforts: the approach of the Hong Kong special
administrative region of China. Forum on crime and society 2(1): 135–146
This paper charts the transition of Hong Kong from a place stricken with widespread corruption to
a city acclaimed for its integrity. It discusses the strategies, government backing and the need for
sufficient resources and powers to tackle corruption. Also discussed is the inception of the Independent
Commission against Corruption and the results achieved by the Commission.
Larmour P 2002. Policy transfer in Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific: when, how, who, what and
from where? Pacific economic bulletin 17(2): 55–67
This paper compares attempts to transfer institutions associated with good governance: land registration,
constitutions, representative democracy, public sector reform and anti-corruption. It asks when the
transfer took place, who was involved, how it took place, and where it came from, and draws some
conclusions about its irrationality.