Seven Arguments in Favour of Rethinking Corruption

The act of “rethinking” corruption is necessary due to a global stagnation after more than two decades of international anticorruption efforts. The issue of corruption is being reframed as a security issue, rather than a developmental one, but the role international agency play in changing a country is still prominent. This article sums up the lessons learned from theoretical and practical advances outlined in the author’s book on “Rethinking Corruption.” It makes a clear argument in favour of rethinking corruption outside the traditional framework and offers a forecasting method, alongside state-of-the-art analytical, fact-based tools to map, assess, and predict corruption risks. The author argues that corruption is a policy issue frequently overriding individual choice, and can only be tackled by strong policy interventions. She explains the limits of international intervention and demonstrates how much unfinished business was left behind by the developmental approach to anticorruption – business that can only be tackled domestically by pro-change coalitions. Evidence is shown that corruption has not decreased despite unprecedented efforts. This is the case because the international context presently creates far more opportunities for corruption than it poses constraints. Few countries and international organisations have proven able to solve the social dilemma of corruption. The instruments to collect evidence for action have been as poor as conceptualisation, but progress has been made and can be used by domestic coalitions seeking to challenge a corrupt status quo. The article outlines that “Rethinking Corruption” is a non-orthodox, yet state-of-the-art guidebook for policy makers, administrators, and practitioners looking to identify an effective way of approaching corruption, engaging in corruption issue policy analysis, designing actionable measurement, and building successful coalitions against systemic corruption.