In “Corruption and NGO Sustainability: A Panel Study of the Post-Communist States,” Rule of Law Collaborative faculty associate Brad Epperly and Taedong Lee explore the effects of corruption on the environment for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in post-communist states in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Individuals living under corrupt governments are reluctant to seek help through official avenues and often rely on self-help, but in this study Epperly and Lee explore how corruption affects the local environment for NGOs. Epperly and Lee expect to find that corruption is associated with weaker legal environments and financial viability for NGOs. However, they also expect to find that corruption has little effect on the success of NGO advocacy and organizations supportive of NGOs. They conclude that corruption is strongly associated with low levels of NGO sustainability.
NGOs are important, because they (1) act as a liaison between citizens and government; (2) build trust among citizens, which has a positive effect on society; and (3) provide local services to citizens, which their governments may not provide or may provide inadequately. The contribution NGOs offer to countries that face corruption can be a critical starting point in eradicating the corruption in those particular countries, but corruption is likely to degrade the legal environment and financial growth of NGOs.
NGO development in post-communist states has been inconsistent, and there is a lack of literature in this area. In order to determine the strength of the NGO sector for this study, the authors consider the level of corruption found in the states in which NGOs operate. The authors refer to USAID’s NGO Sustainability Index to explain the conditions that must exist in order for NGOs to operate effectively. These conditions are referred to as “NGO viability.” NGO viability is measured in two broad categories: environment (sub-categories include legal rights, financial conditions, public awareness of NGOs, and organizations supportive of NGO activities) and activities (sub-categories include success of NGO advocacy, organizational capacity, and provision of NGO services for their constituents).
Using data from the NGO Sustainability Index, the authors compare each sub-category against the levels of corruption as reported by Freedom House Nations in Transit. Epperly and Lee conclude that lower levels of corruption and higher levels of democracy are associated with better local environments for NGOs. The data show that foreign aid or a country’s status as a European Union (EU) candidate or member does not have a significant relationship with that country’s NGO environment. This finding is critical, as most scholars contend that foreign aid contributes to a conducive environment for NGOs. The authors suggest that this finding “calls into question the validity of ‘Europeanization,’” which argues that “the EU accession process has a positive effect on Eastern Europe.”
The authors’ expectation that corruption has a strong effect on legal environments and financial viability of NGOs is supported by the data. The data also show that although poorer countries find it difficult to sustain NGOs, due to a lack of funding, these countries are as equipped as wealthier countries to establish a legal environment conducive to NGOs.
The results of the study also support that corruption has little effect on the success of NGO advocacy and organizations supportive of NGOs, with the exception of one sub-category: the effect of corruption on public image is proportional to the effect corruption has on the legal environment. One explanation for this trend is that, because society loses trust in corrupt government, society also will lose trust in other public organizations, because ordinary citizens may perceive public organizations as an extension of the government.
Epperly and Lee suggest that poorer countries seeking to sustain NGOs can start by creating a more conducive legal environment, as little money is required to do so. Anti-corruption campaigns may also be helpful if their goal is tied to helping NGOs and not political gain.
NOTE: This summary is produced by the Rule of Law Collaborative, not by the original author(s).