Ten years since the Open Government Partnership was formed to promote more inclusive, transparent, and participatory governments around the world, the challenge of corruption has only grown in importance. The global population is confronting novel issues as technology fuels disinformation and criminal enterprises such as illicit financial flows, allowing corruption to spread and evolve. The rise of authoritarianism has roots in the corrosive impact of corruption on democracy and the rule of law. In short, the need for renewed, effective measures to combat corruption is more salient than ever. The Biden Administration recently agreed, recognizing in its National Security Study Memorandum combatting corruption as a top national security priority.
The justice sector has a complex relationship to corruption. It is one of the primary venues in which corruption is fought directly, through prosecutions of incidents of corrupt behavior, administrative regulation, and enforcement of corruption prevention mechanisms. At the same time, the justice sector is not immune to corruption’s pernicious influence. And, in a system that depends on public legitimacy, the justice sector is particularly affected by the destructive impact of corruption. It is thus particularly important for justice sector experts and reform managers to possess, and continue to deepen, an in-depth, nuanced understanding of the entrenched, resilient, and systemic nature of corruption in society.
This two-day training will address the causes and consequences of corruption, examining the antagonism between corruption and the rule of law. It will explore the systemic nature of both justice systems and systems of corruption. Participants will work through practical exercises to develop their own detailed understanding of corruption and grapple with how it manifests in their country of focus. Participants will be challenged to broaden the way in which they understand corruption and be prepared to account for corruption in their program design work based on the analysis performed during this training session. Participants will leave the training with a more sophisticated understanding of what corruption is, the difficulties in identifying corruption, how corruption acts as a spoiler to rule of law, and how corruption evolves to resist reform efforts.