Introduction Associations between corruption on the one hand, and political instability and violent conflict on the other, are increasingly commonplace in research documents, policy statements, and recent events: -- In 2011, the World Bank’s landmark World Development Report on Conflict, Security, and Development suggested that “Corruption […] has doubly pernicious impacts on the risk of violence, by fuelling grievances and by undermining the effectiveness of national institutions and social norms.”10 An OECD Development Co-operation Directorate report on corruption and state-building has argued in a similar vein that “Corruption lies at the core of fragility. Certain forms of corruption can fundamentally delegitimize the state.”11 -- In a wide range of conflict-affected countries, surveys commissioned by civil society organisations have identified corruption as one of the key concerns of the population. In an Integrity Watch Afghanistan survey, for example, half the respondents considered corruption to fuel the expansion of the Taliban;12 and in both Afghanistan and Kosovo corruption has been identified by survey respondents as a major challenge to their country.13 -- Corruption has been central to the narratives of the Arab spring and demands to address it a central demand of protesters, not least because of the graphic accounts of corruption and conspicuous consumption of the Tunisian ruling elite revealed by the trial focusing on the Ben Ali and Trabelsi families. A closer look at the data (table 1) also suggests a robust correlation between corruption and violent conflict: countries with very high levels of corruption (as reflected in low scores in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index or in the World Bank’s Control of Corruption score) are disproportionately more likely to have experienced violent conflict. As a consequence, they are also more likely to see substantial peace operations on their soil. -- 11 of the 20 most corrupt countries have been affected by violent conflict, often lasting many years. -- Nine out of these 20 countries listed in table 1 have seen peace operations deployed on their territory. These have been led by a variety of international and regional organisations, including the UN, NATO, the EU, and the African Union. -- According to data from the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, 11 of the 20 countries listed in the table suffer from very high rates of violent death, with rates in excess of 10 per 100,000.14 Two countries (Iraq, Venezuela) have violent death rates in excess of 40 per 100,000. This includes death from conflict, terrorism, crime, and state violence against civilians.
10 2011 WDR, 7-8. 11 OECD/DAC, Integrity in Statebuilding: Anti-Corruption with a Statebuilding Lens (Paris: OECD/DAC, 2009), 9. 12 Integrity Watch Afghanistan, 2010. 13 The Asia Foundation 2011; UNDP 2011. 14 Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, The Global Burden of Armed Violence 2011, Geneva, p.53. The countries include Iraq, Venezuela, Sudan, DR Congo, Somalia, Chad, Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Cameroon, and Burundi.
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