The Conundrum of Corruption: Reform for Social Justice

Description

This book argues that it is time to step back and reassess the anti-corruption movement, which despite its many opportunities and great resources has ended up with a track record that is indifferent at best. Drawing on many years of experience and research, the authors critique many of the major strategies and tactics employed by anti-corruption actors, arguing that they have made the mistake of holding on to problematical assumptions, ideas, and strategies, rather than addressing the power imbalances that enable and sustain corruption. The book argues that progress against corruption is still possible but requires a focus on justice and fairness, considerable tolerance for political contention, and a willingness to stick with the reform cause over a very long process of thoroughgoing, sometimes discontinuous political change. Ultimately, the purpose of the book is not to tell people that they are doing things all wrong. Instead, the authors present new ways of thinking about familiar dilemmas of corruption, politics, contention, and reform. These valuable insights from two of the top thinkers in the field will be useful for policymakers, reform groups, grant-awarding bodies, academic researchers, NGO officers, and students. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Part 1: After thirty years … what? Chapter 1: A Conundrum, a Dominant Paradigm, and the Need for New Thinking I Fighting the good fight Conundrum? What conundrum? II Launching the struggle against corruption From movement to industry A powerful, but limiting, consensus III Useful disagreements IV Conclusion References Chapter 2: Fighting corruption today I Going around in circles II Who’s in today’s anti-corruption industry? Practitioners: “Just tell us what works...” Academicians: “However…” Shared dilemmas III The big six: What reformers typically do Crime prevention Incentives Civil society strategies Liberalization International treaties and conventions IV Conclusion References Part 2: Misreadings and misunderstandings Chapter 3: Misreading the nature of corruption: Corruption in monochrome I Getting corruption in focus II Seeing in monochrome Catch-all corruption: “Everything bad”? Corruption as deviance Oversimplifying the problem Corruption as a national trait Corruption as backwardness Dichotomous corruption: one step forward, two steps back? III From descriptions to causes References Chapter 4: Misreading the corruption cure: Interventions as silver bullets I Monocausal theories of change Understanding social and political change II Three silver bullets, revisited Crime and punishment: Anti-corruption agencies Origins Interventional logic – and its flaws Results and consequences Liberalization: Privatization and decentralization Origins Interventional logic and its application: Privatization Interventional logic and its application: Decentralization III Fewer assumptions, better questions References Chapter 5: Misreading the Sources and Nature of Change: Development, backwardness, and the chimera of “political will” I Getting realistic about change II “Magical narratives” about the sources of change Change from the top: the hero-reformer Change from external pressure Change from below, mark 1: Civil society and reform Change from below, mark 2: Mass campaigns and “people power” III “Magical narratives” about the nature of change Change as linear and engineered Corruption control as a byproduct of modernization Arriving at “modernity” Getting history backwards… and upside down IV Conclusion: Misplaced lesson drawing References Part 3: Reform with the future in mind Chapter 6: Who Does, and Who Should, Benefit from Reform?: The anti-corruption industry and its limitations I Reform in service to…itself? II Who guides the anti-corruption industry? If your only tool is a hammer… III Who benefits? IV Who should benefit? Why have we not pursued that approach? V Conclusion: Toward reform 2.0 References Chapter 7: Reform, Power, and Justice I A different starting point II Beyond monochrome and silver bullets: Better theories of change Descriptive diversity and syndromes Beyond “just tell us what works” Context and causal complexity III Beyond “good governance”: Getting to… what? What is the opposite of corruption? The crown, the barons, and an angry parliament: Asserting new interests A new day in the Caucasus? From political space to reform activism IV Recalibrating the anti-corruption machine: Strategic issues Underestimating the challenges References Chapter 8: So… What Should We Do? I Aren’t we doing anything right? II More than sound processes Long and indirect paths Caution is in order… Policy matters But, don’t we do these things already…? III Corruption and reform, 2050 Civic virtue triumphant? Data to the rescue? The privatization of everything? The piratization of everything? Populists ascendant? Something like…justice? IV Conclusion: The conundrum of corruption References Index