Mapping and Fighting Corruption in War-Torn States
by Alix J. Boucher, William J. Durch, Margaret Midyette, Sarah Rose, and Jason Terry
March 2007
A new Future of Peace Operations (FOPO) program study by Alix J. Boucher, William J. Durch, Margaret Midyette, Sarah Rose and Jason Terry, examines corruption in war-torn states and summarizes best practices for fighting it. Mapping and Fighting Corruption in War-Torn States reviews and consolidates, from the English-language literature on the subject, what the world’s specialists in corruption have to say about how to recognize and fight it in post-conflict circumstances, especially where international peace operations are deployed. Its structured summary or "meta-analysis " of the literature is built around two charts: one that depicts patterns of corruption in post-conflict states and a second that maps and connects the most frequently mentioned steps for dealing with it. The latter closely resembles a comprehensive state-building strategy.
The study contains a preliminary assessment of anticorruption efforts in Liberia and concludes with recommendations on the sequencing of such measures in war-torn states. The study was presented in draft form at two international conferences, at Nuffield College in Oxford, England, and at the Naval Post-Graduate School's Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction in Monterey, California.
Materials from the study:
Full Report available here (pdf)
Figure 1: Mapping Corruption (pdf)
Figure 2 : Anticorruption Best Practices (pdf)
Annex: Consensus in Corruption and Anticorruption Best Practices (Excel Matrix) (pdf)
Annex : Table of Numbered Sources (pdf)
This study is one of five FOPO studies on essential aspects of improving rule of law in post-conflict states. Other studies focus on the creation of a standing UN police capacity, improving border control and border security, increasing accountability for non-military personnel in peace operations, and using UN Panels of Experts more effectively to combat spoilers and monitor targeted sanctions. Information on FOPO's Rule of Law project can be found here.
Read the press release about the report.
