Overview of Corruption and Anti-Corruption in Liberia
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A Changing of the Guards Or a Change of Systems?
BTI 2020 A Changing of the Guards or A Change of Systems? Regional Report Sub-Saharan Africa Nic Cheeseman BTI 2020 | A Changing of the Guards or A Change of Systems? Regional Report Sub-Saharan Africa By Nic Cheeseman Overview of transition processes in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe This regional report was produced in October 2019. It analyzes the results of the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2020 in the review period from 1 February 2017 to 31 January 2019. Author Nic Cheeseman Professor of Democracy and International Development University of Birmingham Responsible Robert Schwarz Senior Project Manager Program Shaping Sustainable Economies Bertelsmann Stiftung Phone 05241 81-81402 [email protected] www.bti-project.org | www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en Please quote as follows: Nic Cheeseman, A Changing of the Guards or A Change of Systems? — BTI Regional Report Sub-Saharan Africa, Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung 2020. https://dx.doi.org/10.11586/2020048 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Cover: © Freepick.com / https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/close-up-of-magnifying-glass-on- map_2518218.htm A Changing of the Guards or A Change of Systems? — BTI 2020 Report Sub-Saharan Africa | Page 3 Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................... -
Protecting Politics: Deterring the Influence Of
Protecting Politics Deterring the Influence of Organized Crime on Elections Protecting Politics: Deterring the Influence of Organized Crime on Elections Elections are essential elements of democratic systems. Unfortunately, abuse and manipulation (including voter intimidation, vote buying or ballot stuffing) can distort these processes. However, little attention has been paid to an intrinsic part of this threat: the conditions and opportunities for criminal interference in the electoral process. Most worrying, few scholars have examined the underlying conditions that make elections vulnerable to organized criminal involvement. This report addresses these gaps in knowledge by analysing the vulnerabilities of electoral processes to illicit interference (above all by organized crime). It suggests how national and international authorities might better protect these crucial and coveted elements of the democratic process. Case studies from Georgia, Mali and Mexico illustrate these challenges and provide insights into potential ways to prevent and mitigate the effects of organized crime on elections. International IDEA Clingendael Institute ISBN 978-91-7671-069-2 Strömsborg P.O. Box 93080 SE-103 34 Stockholm 2509 AB The Hague Sweden The Netherlands T +46 8 698 37 00 T +31 70 324 53 84 F +46 8 20 24 22 F +31 70 328 20 02 9 789176 710692 > [email protected] [email protected] www.idea.int www.clingendael.nl ISBN: 978-91-7671-069-2 Protecting Politics Deterring the Influence of Organized Crime on Elections Protecting Politics Deterring the Influence of Organized Crime on Elections Series editor: Catalina Uribe Burcher Lead authors: Ivan Briscoe and Diana Goff © 2016 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance © 2016 Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael Institute) International IDEA Strömsborg SE-103 34 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 698 37 00, fax: +46 8 20 24 22 Email: [email protected], website: www.idea.int Clingendael Institute P.O. -
Post-Communist Mafia State
REVIEWS 275 tion’s wealth for themselves: rather, as is the Magyar, Bálint: case in Hungary, it could be a country whose corrupt, kleptocratic leaders also go out of POST-COMMUNIST MAFIA STATE. their way to actively control illicit societal THE CASE OF HUNGARY. activities and organized crime. These leaders do not simply steal from the state: they rot Budapest: Central European University it and create a society of thieves dependent Press. 2016. 311 pages. upon the elites who sanction their crimes (pp. 81–82). It is a vicious cycle that makes DOI: 10.5817/PC2018-3-275 everyone complicit in the state’s corruption. Magyar’s latest text successfully tests his An unequivocal condemnation of the Fi expanded theory of the mafia state, con deszcontrolled Hungary, Bálint Magyar’s cretizing it and demonstrating how Hun Post-Communist Mafia State: The Case of gary’s authoritarian government can mas Hungary could not be timelier. This book querade as a ‘good’ state whilst eroding civil explores the deceitful mechanisms by which society and democratic institutions – even the hybrid regime installed by Prime Min without exerting any physical mass violence ister Viktor Orbán and his fellow Fidesz of (see Levitsky, Lucan 2010). It argues that ficials has systematically stripped Hungari Hungary is a corrupt, parasitic state (p. 13). ans of civil liberties (p. 255) with impunity, The book begins with the premise that upon ironically owing to its control over the rule its accession to the European Union in 2004, of law. While this text specifically investi Hungary was the model of liberal democrat gates democratic backsliding in Hungary, its ic consolidation for other former Commu framework will surely prove crucial for un nist states. -
Power and Plunder in Putin's Russia Miriam Lanskoy, Dylan Myles-Primakoff
Power and Plunder in Putin's Russia Miriam Lanskoy, Dylan Myles-Primakoff Journal of Democracy, Volume 29, Number 1, January 2018, pp. 76-85 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2018.0006 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/683637 Access provided by your local institution (13 Mar 2018 16:12 GMT) PRE created by BK on 11/20/17. The Rise of Kleptocracy POWER AND PLUNDER IN PUTIN’S RUSSIA Miriam Lanskoy and Dylan Myles-Primakoff Miriam Lanskoy is senior director for Russia and Eurasia at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). She is the author, with Ilyas Akhmadov, of The Chechen Struggle: Independence Won and Lost (2010). Dylan Myles-Primakoff is senior program officer for Russia and Eurasia at the NED. Since Vladimir Putin rose to power in 1999, the quest to restore the might of the Russian state at home and abroad has been a hallmark of his rule. Yet another such hallmark has been rampant looting by the country’s leaders. Thus Russia has figured prominently in recent schol- arly discussions about kleptocracies—regimes distinguished by a will- ingness to prioritize defending their leaders’ mechanisms of personal enrichment over other goals of statecraft. In a kleptocracy, then, cor- ruption plays an outsized role in determining policy. But how have the state-building and great-power ambitions of the new Russian elite coex- isted with its scramble for self-enrichment? Putin’s Russia offers a vivid illustration of how kleptocratic plunder can become not only an end in itself, but also a tool for both consolidating domestic political control and projecting power abroad. -
Corruption Perceptions Index 2020
CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2020 Transparency International is a global movement with one vision: a world in which government, business, civil society and the daily lives of people are free of corruption. With more than 100 chapters worldwide and an international secretariat in Berlin, we are leading the fight against corruption to turn this vision into reality. #cpi2020 www.transparency.org/cpi Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained in this report. All information was believed to be correct as of January 2021. Nevertheless, Transparency International cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of its use for other purposes or in other contexts. ISBN: 978-3-96076-157-0 2021 Transparency International. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 DE. Quotation permitted. Please contact Transparency International – [email protected] – regarding derivatives requests. CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2020 2-3 12-13 20-21 Map and results Americas Sub-Saharan Africa Peru Malawi 4-5 Honduras Zambia Executive summary Recommendations 14-15 22-23 Asia Pacific Western Europe and TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE European Union 6-7 Vanuatu Myanmar Malta Global highlights Poland 8-10 16-17 Eastern Europe & 24 COVID-19 and Central Asia Methodology corruption Serbia Health expenditure Belarus Democratic backsliding 25 Endnotes 11 18-19 Middle East & North Regional highlights Africa Lebanon Morocco TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL 180 COUNTRIES. 180 SCORES. HOW DOES YOUR COUNTRY MEASURE UP? -
UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Logic of Kleptocracy: Corruption, Repression, and Political Opposition in Post-Soviet Eurasia Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/92g1h187 Author LaPorte, Jody Marie Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Logic of Kleptocracy: Corruption, Repression, and Political Opposition in Post-Soviet Eurasia By Jody Marie LaPorte A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Jason Wittenberg, Co-chair Professor Michael S. Fish, Co-chair Professor David Collier Professor Victoria Bonnell Spring 2012 The Logic of Kleptocracy: Corruption, Repression, and Political Opposition in Post-Soviet Eurasia Copyright 2012 by Jody Marie LaPorte Abstract The Logic of Kleptocracy: Corruption, Repression, and Political Opposition in Post-Soviet Eurasia by Jody Marie LaPorte Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Berkeley Professor Jason Wittenberg, co-chair Professor Michael S. Fish, co-chair This dissertation asks why some non-democratic regimes give political opponents significant leeway to organize, while others enforce strict limits on such activities. I examine this question with reference to two in-depth case studies from post-Soviet Eurasia: Georgia under President Eduard Shevardnadze and Kazakhstan under President Nursultan Nazarbayev. While a non- democratic regime was in place in both countries, opposition was highly tolerated in Georgia, but not allowed in Kazakhstan. I argue that these divergent policies can be traced to variation in the predominant source and pattern of state corruption in each country. -
Turning the Tide on Dirty Money Why the World’S Democracies Need a Global Kleptocracy Initiative
GETTY IMAGES Turning the Tide on Dirty Money Why the World’s Democracies Need a Global Kleptocracy Initiative By Trevor Sutton and Ben Judah February 2021 WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG Contents 1 Preface 3 Introduction and summary 6 How dirty money went global and why efforts to stop it have failed 10 Why illicit finance and kleptocracy are a threat to global democracy and should be a foreign policy priority 13 The case for optimism: Why democracies have a structural advantage against kleptocracy 18 How to harden democratic defenses against kleptocracy: Key principles and areas for improvement 21 Recommendations 28 Conclusion 29 Corruption and kleptocracy: Key definitions and concepts 31 About the authors and acknowledgments 32 Endnotes Preface Transparency and honest government are the lifeblood of democracy. Trust in democratic institutions depends on the integrity of public servants, who are expected to put the common good before their own interests and faithfully observe the law. When officials violate that duty, democracy is at risk. No country is immune to corruption. As representatives of three important democratic societies—the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom—we recognize that corruption is an affront to our shared values, one that threatens the resiliency and cohesion of democratic governments around the globe and undermines the relationship between the state and its citizens. For that reason, we welcome the central recommendation of this report that the world’s democracies should work together to increase transparency in the global economy and limit the pernicious influence of corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit finance on democratic institutions. -
Venezuela: Background and U.S
Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations Updated January 21, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R44841 {222A0E69-13A2-4985-84AE-73CC3D FF4D02}- R-065134085251065165027250227152136081055238021128081004254222131230149124116165025173059138019212092197094082070147241055138103109125167218148070191159004086199008187015230011144177144130039148251243207037022138160186199154124002209111056023137069245037120015094018080157060102122054208115 Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations Summary Venezuela remains in a deep political crisis under the authoritarian rule of President Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Maduro, narrowly elected in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), is unpopular. Nevertheless, he has used the courts, security forces, and electoral council to repress the opposition. On January 10, 2019, Maduro began a second term after winning reelection on May 20, 2018, in an unfair contest deemed illegitimate by the opposition-controlled National Assembly and most of the international community. The United States, the European Union, the Group of Seven, and most Western Hemisphere countries do not recognize the legitimacy of his mandate. They view the National Assembly as Venezuela’s only democratic institution. Maduro’s inauguration capped his efforts to consolidate power. In 2017, protesters called for Maduro to release political prisoners and respect the opposition-led National Assembly. Security forces quashed protests, with more than 130 killed and thousands -
Sudan's Deep State
Violent Kleptocracy Series: East and Central Africa Sudan’s Deep State How Insiders Violently Privatized Sudan’s Wealth, and How to Respond By The Enough Project April 2017 REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo Sudan’s Deep State Violent Kleptocracy Series: East & Central Africa Executive Summary Sudan’s government is a violent kleptocracy, a system of misrule characterized by state capture and co-opted institutions, where a small ruling group maintains power indefinitely through various forms of corruption and violence. Throughout his reign, President Omar al-Bashir has overseen the entrenchment of systemic looting, widespread impunity, political repression, and state violence so that he and his inner circle can maintain absolute authority and continue looting the state. The result of this process, on the one hand, has been the amassment of fortunes for the president and a number of elites, enablers, and facilitators, and on the other hand crushing poverty and underdevelopment for most Sudanese people.* A Failed State? For nearly three decades, President al-Bashir has maintained his position at the pinnacle of Sudan’s political order after seizing power through a military coup in 1989. During his rule, the government of Sudan has perhaps been best known for providing safe haven to Osama bin Laden and other Islamic militants in the 1990s, for committing genocide1 and mass atrocities against its citizens in Darfur, for the secession of South Sudan in 2011, and for ongoing armed conflict—marked by the regime’s aerial bombardment of civilian targets and humanitarian aid blockade—in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Often portrayed as a country wracked by intractable violence and hampered by racial, religious, ethnic and social cleavages, Sudan ranks consistently among the most fragile or failed states.2 At the same time, Sudan has considerable natural resource wealth and significant economic potential. -
UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Previously Published Works
UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Previously Published Works Title HAS LIBERIA TURNED A CORNER? Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4394423f Journal JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY, 29(3) ISSN 1045-5736 Authors Spatz, Benjamin J Thaler, Kai M Publication Date 2018-07-01 DOI 10.1353/jod.2018.0052 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Has Liberia Turned a Corner? Benjamin J. Spatz, Kai M. Thaler Journal of Democracy, Volume 29, Number 3, July 2018, pp. 156-170 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2018.0052 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/698925 No institutional affiliation (16 Jul 2018 18:21 GMT) HAS LIBERIA TURNED A CORNER? Benjamin J. Spatz and Kai M. Thaler Benjamin J. Spatz is a doctoral candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He has worked on Liberia since 2005, including serving on the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia during 2012–15. Kai M. Thaler is assistant professor of global studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The January 2018 inauguration of Liberia’s newly elected president George Weah marked the small West African country’s first transfer of power between democratically elected leaders since its founding 171 years earlier. After an electoral process marred by charges of irregularities and court-ordered delays, Weah’s clear runoff victory was followed rapidly by the concession of his opponent, Unity Party (UP) candidate and incum- bent vice-president Joseph Boakai. -
Governance, Corruption, and Conflict
A STUDY GUIDE SERIES ON PEACE AND CONFLICT FOR INDEPENDENT LEARNERS AND CLASSROOM INSTRUCTORS GOVERNANCE, CORRUPTION, AND CONFLICT UNITED STATE S IN S TIT U TE OF PEACE Washington, D.C. Table of Contents 3. Preface 2 Introduction 4 Corruption 4 Corruption, Society, and Governance 9 Corruption, Conflict, and Peacebuilding 16 Conclusion 22 Glossary 23 Discussion and Investigation Activities 27 Discussion I: Introduction to Governance and Corruption 27 Discussion II: Identifying Corruption and the Role of Governance in Conflict 28 Activity I: Analyzing Recommendations 29 Activity II: Simulation 31 Resources 44 Notes 50 Study Guide Series on Peace and Conflict 1 Governance, Corruption, and Conflict “I Miss Mao” by Xiao Chi An "I have good news," Fan Xiaoli told her brother, Fan Dayi, on the phone one day in PrefaceAugust 2008 (the family's names have been changed). "I've finally found someone who can help us to send Yuanyuan to the school." TheThey international were talking about system how tohas get witnessed dramatic changes in the recent past. Questions relatingYuanyuan, to Fan how Xiaoli's and when daughter, ordinary into a citizens can stand against oppression, injustice, and abuseprestigious without junior resorting high school to in violence Guangzhou, challenge all of us to rethink our understanding of internationalChina. When test peace results and were conflict. released Asin mid academicians,- educators, practitioners, private citizens,July, Yuanyuan and students, did not do wellwhat enough is our to role in this increasingly complex global picture? What canmeet we the doschool's to nurture entrance and requirements. preserve international security and world peace? Xiaoli was as disappointed as her daughter. -
Factors Which Prolong Civil Conflict in Africa: the Case of Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations and Theses City College of New York 2015 Factors Which Prolong Civil Conflict in Africa: The Case of Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone Ntesang Lorraine Molemele CUNY City College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/337 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Factors Which Prolong Civil Conflict in Africa: The Case of Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone Written by: Ntesang Lorraine Molemele Student number: 2824 Supervised by: Prof. J. Braveboy- Wagner A thesis report submitted to the Department of International Relations in partial fulfillment of Master of International Affairs in the Department of International Relations, City University of New York, City College 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a long journey for this thesis accomplishment and now finally it is accomplished. First and foremost I thank God for my mother, Seskhutshwe, who has always wanted her children to accomplish through education. It would not have been possible of course without my dad, Judge and my little sister Ikey. My 9 year old daughter, I also thank her for always making sure she did not disturb me whenever I had to concentrate on this project. Above all, I wish to express my gratitude to my exceedingly patient Professor and supervisor, Jacqueline Braveboy. I have probably been one of the laziest of them all. But I thank her for the patience.