Foreign Policy Blogs

Corruption and Accountability

Security Context of Illegal Wildlife Trade in East Africa

Security Context of Illegal Wildlife Trade in East Africa

Illegal wildlife trade is of immense value to criminal organizations and armed non-state actors such as al-Shabaab in Somalia.

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Cameron’s Anti-Corruption Summit: A First Step in a Long Road

Cameron’s Anti-Corruption Summit: A First Step in a Long Road

International cooperation on transparency and a coordinated effort to target secretive tax havens and offshore financial arrangements tied to illegal activities were among the issues discussed at the summit.

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Putin Emerges as a Winner in the Panama Papers Scandal

Putin Emerges as a Winner in the Panama Papers Scandal

Despite economic turmoil and challenged political credibility of Russia on the world stage, the Panama Papers revelations will not pose a significant threat to the stability of Putin’s regime but will worsen Russia-U.S. relations and the country’s image in the West.

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How to Avoid Millions of Citizens Demanding your Impeachment

How to Avoid Millions of Citizens Demanding your Impeachment

One of the most basic forms of democratic engagement besides voting comes from mass peaceful protests. Indeed, it is difficult to ignore millions of people demanding the end of your political career.

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Any New Year’s resolutions Mr. Orbán?

Any New Year’s resolutions Mr. Orbán?

Old tricks die hard in the European Union’s “rogue state,” but the West must acknowledge its hand in fueling the political culture in Hungary.

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Corruption Never Fades in the Absence of Justice

Corruption Never Fades in the Absence of Justice

When every conflict is taken in terms of good vs. evil, no progress can be made and corruption becomes more of a nuance than a lack of accountability.

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The EU is Fostering Progress in Tackling Corruption

The EU is Fostering Progress in Tackling Corruption

Romania’s fight against corruption is showing encouraging signs of progress, but the bitter medicine of reform marks a traumatic period for the country.

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How the Left was Won and Lost

How the Left was Won and Lost

If there is no single truth, lies can become powerful tools in an election.

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Situating Putin

Situating Putin

With Vladimir Putin’s re-election for a six year term, and with him talking of helping himself to second-six year term after that, it is a good time to take stock of what Masha Gessen calls the “criminal tyranny” he has established in Russia. Gessen, the author of a an important new book about Putin published […]

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The 2011 Most Corrupt BRICS Country Award Goes to…

The 2011 Most Corrupt BRICS Country Award Goes to…

It is December and that means holiday parties and awards for most companies, organizations and government departments. So here is a little award of my own. Two of Transparency International’s (TI) biggest reports were recently released. The first is the 2011 Bribe Payer’s Index (BPI). The 2011 BPI ranks 28 of the world’s largest economies […]

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Accountability in Egypt

The turmoil in Egypt raises endless questions about accountability. To name a few: Is it possible for a dictator to be accountable to his people? What responsibility do Egypt’s allies have for holding him accountable? Are the massive public demonstrations currently on display doing any more for accountability than the previous status quo? Any leadership […]

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How serious the crime?

The return of former president Jean-Claude Duvalier was a shock to Haiti, both in terms of surprise as well as the frisson that it sent through much of the population. Associated by some with a time of stability, “Baby Doc” Duvalier was more commonly known for the brutal legacy he continued in his father’s footsteps. […]

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Corruption takes down another leader

This week, the president of Tunisia, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country amid massive demonstrations against his administration’s authoritarianism and corruption. It was a success for those who believe that corruption should not be tolerated and corrupt officials should be driven from power. While the protests began after a single jobless youth set himself […]

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What Wikileaks has to say about corruption

What Wikileaks has to say about corruption

The latest Wikileaks revelations are too extensive for any single person to have yet sifted through, and they pertain to so many aspects of foreign policy that it is difficult to know where to focus. Here are some of the highlights related to corruption. In the category of “I knew just as much simply by […]

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Government-civil society coop(era)tion

This month was the biannual International Anti-Corruption Conference, which took place this year in Bangkok. The conference is an opportunity for a large portion of the world’s people who are thinking about corruption to get together, share ideas, learn what’s new, and of course schmooze (a bit). The theme of the conference this year was […]

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