Document details

Confronting Corruption: The Elements of a National Integrity System. Transparency International Source Book 2000

Berlin; London: Transparency International (2000), 364 pp.

Contains bibliogr. 337-349 pp. , index

ISBN 3-980-5657-8-5

"The first version of this Source Book (now translated into over 20 languages) argued the case for a “National Integrity System”, an holistic approach to transparency and accountability and embracing a range of accountability “pillars”, democratic, judicial, media and civil society. The expression has since passed into common usage in development circles, and the argument for an holistic approach to anti-corruption efforts has similarly achieved a widespread consensus. But anti-corruption success stories remain largely elusive. In part the answers will lie with civil society. If activists remain active, inventive, determined and decisive, the issue can be kept at the forefront of national and international attention even after the battle may appear to have been won. For the potentially corrupt will always be with us, and even those whose National Integrity Systems seem to be in reasonably good shape can find themselves grappling with the unexpected as the determined exploit whatever gaps they can find. The fight against corruption is not wholly a moral one, in the sense that it is a struggle against the intrinsic “evil” of corruption. Certainly there is a moral element – one which cuts across all major religions and societies throughout the world – but the compelling reason for the struggle is the suffering and deprivation corruption brings to whole societies, and to the world’s most poor. It is concern for the latter, rather than a distaste for the corrupt and their deeds, that rightly drives the global movement against corruption." (Page 2)