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241. The Venezuelan Crisis and Salvador Allende's Glasses

Author:
Juan S. Gonzalez
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
The situation in Venezuela is deeply worrisome, and the countries of the hemisphere have an important responsibility to the Venezuelan people. It is also in the national interest of the United States for Venezuela to prosper as a nation, while seeking to pursue policies supported by its people through a stable and fair democratic process. There is a serious lack of meaningful and productive dialogue between the Venezuelan government and its own people at a time when the country’s economy is in crisis. The United States can and should lead, but it should follow the lead of the Venezuelan opposition, and avoid reverting to the Cold War-era unilateral action that until recently defined much of our foreign policy toward the region. Such an approach will not usher Venezuela back to its place as one of the most economically and politically consequential countries in Latin America. At least that is what Allende’s glasses seem to say.
Topic:
Corruption, Governance, Democracy, and Regionalism
Political Geography:
South America, Venezuela, North America, and United States of America

242. Only Connect: the Survival and Spread of Organized Crime in Latin America

Author:
Ivan Briscoe and David Keseberg
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
Deeply entrenched over decades, organized crime has married with systemic corruption and high levels of impunity to generate multiple forms of political and economic capital across the ideological spectrum in Latin America. But recent experience gives some provisional grounds for optimism. The end point of popular disaffection with flawed democracies and illicit links between criminal groups, political elites, and the private sector need not inevitably result in an embrace of authoritarianism and/or charismatic caudillos.
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Private Sector, and Organized Crime
Political Geography:
Latin America and North America

243. Saving Democracy Abroad

Author:
Robert M. Perito and Donald J. Planty
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
Democratic governments are under siege around the world from forces that threaten the basic principles of representative government—freely elected leaders, democratic institutions, and the rule of law. In countries as diverse as Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and Egypt, authoritarian leaders have “snuffed out civil society, suborned or faked elections, asphyxiated free expression, and repressed human rights.” Populist regimes are consolidating power in Europe and Latin America where citizens have lost faith in political institutions and rejected conventional leaders. Centralized authoritarian governments in Russia and China have put forward an alternative autocratic governance model and are striving for world leadership. Meanwhile, democracy in the United States has taken a dangerous turn.
Topic:
Corruption, Governance, Authoritarianism, Elections, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Global Focus

244. Corruption: Public and Private

Author:
Lorenzo Pellegrini and Luca Tasciotti
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:
Corruption is recognised as a major stumbling block to development and is associated with injustice and abuse of power. The consensus on the detrimental effects of corruption stands in contrast with the lack of agreement on the set of phenomena that fall under the heading ‘corruption’ and there is little discussion on whether the economics of corruption should also include corruption in the private sector. This question is relevant since different foci will have different theoretical bases and policy ramifications. We analyse the issue from two complementary perspectives: whether the impacts of corruption are limited to corruption in the public sector and whether a large public sector is associated with more corruption. First, we review theoretical and empirical perspectives on corruption, showing how concern over corruption in the private sector has a long history, dating back to Marshall and Coase. Second, we analyse corruption’s determinants using a panel data approach. The econometric analysis demonstrates how our indicator of government involvement in the economy is a poor predictor of corruption prevalence. Finally, the paper highlights the policy implications of the one-sided focus on corruption in the public sector and proposes an explicit acknowledgment of the role of corruption in the private sector.
Topic:
Corruption, Governance, Public Sector, and Private Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus

245. Kosovo Security Barometer - Ninth Edition

Author:
Donika Marku
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
The Kosovo Security Barometer (KSB) is a distinctive tool through which the Kosovo Center for Security Studies (KCSS) measures public perceptions in Kosovo. The ninth edition of the Kosovo Security Barometer consists of two chapters. While the first chapter measures citizens’ perceptions of trust in security, justice, central and local institutions, 1 the second chapter presents citizens’ perceptions of corruption in these institutions.
Topic:
Security, Corruption, Public Opinion, and Trust
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe and Kosovo

246. Rent Seeking and Industrial Growth in Africa: The Case of Dangote’s Cement Industry

Author:
Adeoye O. Akinola
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:
Over the years, Africa has been noted for its socio-economic turmoil, and one of the decisive factors responsible for its dwindling economic fortune has been the lack of industrialization or de-industrialization experienced in the region. Africa is not lacking in both human and natural resources required for the attainment of socio- economic greatness; however, the lack of will-power and necessary policies to spur industrial growth have been evident. Although, Africa had recorded economic growth indicators decades ago, but the lack of its industrial prowess to sustain such has had a debilitating effect on its economy. This has made it imperative to acknowledge the policy-gaps in the industrialization question and explore the factors responsible for the lull in its industrial growth. Western scholarship holds that corruption and rent seeking hurts Africa’s quest for industrialization, but I contend with ascribing the same understanding to the two concepts and argue that rent seeking is required to drive the industrial agenda of African states. Through the case study of Dangote’s investment in the Cement industry in Africa, and unstructured interview of key players in the industrialization project, the article examines the place of rent-seeking in Africa’s industrial growth. Rents is essential in developing economies to spur the development of infant industries; thus, the implementation of ‘conditional’ rents- friendly policy remains the answer towards achieving industrial growth and development in Africa.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Economic Growth, Industrialization, and Industry
Political Geography:
Africa

247. From Manifesto Promise to Policy Implementation: Analysis of Government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program

Author:
Gilfred Asiamah, Awal Swallah, Kojo Asante, and Samuel Baaye
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Ghana Center for Democratic Development
Abstract:
The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with funding support from the Department for International Development (DFID) under its Strengthening Action Against Corruption (STAAC) program has initiated a project to track the implementation of the government's flagship Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program (IPEP).
Topic:
Corruption, Government, Poverty, Infrastructure, and Economic Development
Political Geography:
Africa and Ghana

248. Massive Russian Financial Flows Through Moldova Show Small Jurisdictions Matter

Author:
Joshua Kirschenbaum and Sergiu Tofilat
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS)
Abstract:
In 2014 the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed a staggering Russian money-laundering operation perpetrated through Moldindconbank in Moldova, alternatively dubbed the Russian Laundromat1 or the Global Laundromat.2 Financial facilitators allegedly moved $20 billion from Russian banks to Moldindconbank over five years, where they “cleaned” the money using Moldovan court orders backing fraudulent claims that borrowers had defaulted on promissory notes. They then moved the proceeds to banks in Latvia and around the world. According to the OCCRP, Moldindconbank received $20 billion in potentially illicit inflows—a truly colossal sum for one small institution in one small country. Yet the real amount of Russian money that was laundered in Moldova through Moldindconbank or through other institutions during this period is very likely much higher. In 2017 The Guardian reported that Moldovan law-enforcement officials “believe the real total may be as high as $80 billion.”3 Our analysis of data in the 2016 Statistical Yearbook of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) shows that the amount of Russian money that entered the country’s banks between 2010 and 2014 was approximately $75 billion. All this points to the inadequate response by Moldova’s government in the face of the staggering scale of the problem, to the possibility that similar illicit activity also occurred at other Moldovan banks, and to the importance of tracking cross-border payments. Most of all, the Moldovan experience shows that small jurisdictions matter, and that solutions must be comprehensive if they are to be enduring. Absent such solutions, private Russian actors and the Russian government will continue to exploit weak links in the Western financial system to conduct malign financial activity. In so doing, they will be able to export corruption, clean criminal proceeds, and facilitate interference operations.
Topic:
Corruption, Finance, Money, and Jurisdiction
Political Geography:
Russia, Eurasia, and Moldova

249. An Unholy Alliance of Muslim Extremists and Organized Crime in the Balkans Case Studies: Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia Herzegovina

Author:
Spiros Bamiatzis
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
The 1990s wars in Yugoslavia led to the disintegration of the country and ushered an era of poverty, political corruption, organized crime and terrorism. The Balkans became synonymous with the syndrome of a failed state, where civil society institutions are doomed to fail. The area has presented the international community with some unique challenges associated with unemployment, jihadism, crime and all those maladies under the wings of political leaderships that have given many reasons to the international community to doubt their credibility and their belief to the rule of law. This study will prove that a nexus exists between Islamic and ethno-nationalist terrorism and illegal criminal activities, and it will focus mainly in three countries: Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia Herzegovina.
Topic:
Corruption, Islam, Poverty, Violent Extremism, and Organized Crime
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Balkans, and Albania

250. Space to be Heard: Mobilizing the Power of People to Reshape Civic Space

Author:
Inga Ferber, Araddhya Mehtta, Barbara Oosters, and Jo Rowlands
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The space for people to speak out, organize and take action against poverty, inequality and injustice is shrinking on a global scale. People in many countries around the world face serious restrictions and repression when exercising their basic rights. This includes citizens who raise their voices against corruption and political dysfunction, organizations that save lives and provide basic services to people in need, communities that defend their sustainable livelihoods and demand a fair share of natural resources, and activists who fight for gender justice. This paper outlines the analysis and strategic focus which inform Oxfam’s contribution to the global defence of civic space and sets out four key changes that we believe are necessary to reclaim and create it. It also gives some key principles and an open invitation to every civil society organization, donor, government, business and individual who subscribes to these same principles to join our common struggle to protect, defend and expand civic space.
Topic:
Corruption, Human Rights, Citizenship, and Civic Engagement
Political Geography:
Global Focus