28 Nov 2012

UNDP Releases Study on Gender and Corruption

New report shows that women are disproportionately affected by corruption, especially in poor and marginalised environments   The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), together with the Huairou Commission, released a report on the relationship between gender and corruption at the 15th biennial International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), held on 7-10 November 2012 in Brazil. The report, entitled […]

28 Nov 2012

New Index Evaluates Transparency in Slovak Public Companies

TI-Slovakia’s ranking reveals lack of transparency and high politicisation of state- and city-owned companies   Transparency International (TI) Slovakia has released a ranking measuring the level of transparency in 45 state- and city-owned Slovak companies. The new tool comes in response to media reports of abuses in the administration of such firms, and to findings […]

22 Nov 2012

iPhone Application Launched to Fight Corruption in Russia

Young entrepreneurs use technology to expose bribery in the country, and thereby hope to raise awareness and help to change Russians’ attitudes towards corruption   Popular frustration with the high levels of corruption in Russia has been increasing, as evidenced by demonstrations and protests in the past year. According to the latest Transparency International’s Corruption […]

20 Nov 2012

Batory Foundation releases poll on whistle-blowing

The results of a new opinion poll carried out by the Batory Foundation in Poland evaluated Poles’ opinion on whistle-blowing at work. The opinion poll was carried out on 11-18 April 2012 by the Polish Public Opinion Poll Centre (CBOS). The report, entitled “Heroes or Snitches”, revealed that almost 70% of those surveyed would be […]

13 Nov 2012

Corruption in Bulgaria on the Rise

The Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) in Bulgaria has been periodically monitoring corruption in the country for many years. The methodology developed by the centre in partnership with Vitosha Research, called Corruption Monitoring System (CMS), has recently generated a new assessment, revealing that administrative corruption has actually increased in Bulgaria since 2011. The […]

12 Nov 2012

Corruption Research Centre at the Corvinus University of Budapest Monitors Public Procurement

(contributed by Mihály Fazekas, researcher at the Corvinus University of Budapest)   While Hungarian authorities publish announcements on the country’s public procurement activities in line with the 2004 EU Directive, this information is not available in a structured format for those who would like to gain insights going beyond any individual announcement (e.g. tracking how much […]

12 Nov 2012

The challenges of fighting corruption

By Alina Mungiu-Pippidi   (published on European Voice on 18.10.2012)   Questioning whether the EU should look for a greater role in efforts to reduce corruption.   If you think the European Union is involved in too much business already, wait until its ambitious plans for oversight in the field of European justice, procurement and […]

31 Oct 2012

ERCAS Proposes Inclusion of Integrity Monitoring among Bologna Assessment Criteria

At the 2nd World Conference on the Right to Education next week in Brussels, ERCAS will propose that the next Ministerial Communiqué of the Bologna Process in 2015 includes a clear reference to integrity as a principle. The Bologna Process are agreements between European countries which ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher […]

31 Oct 2012

World Bank Corruption Indicator Shows Little Improvement Globally

Analysis of most recent data from World Bank aggregate indicator Control of Corruption shows that results of the anti-corruption global campaign have been disappointing in effectively curbing corruption in the world   In the last two decades, the issue of corruption has gained great prominence in the international development agenda, mainly as a result of […]

30 Oct 2012

ERCAS Team Presents Research at International Conferences

Since its creation last March, ERCAS’s team has had the opportunity to disseminate the centre’s research work and approach at several international events, ranging from academic conferences to meetings targeted at the international donor community. Recently, two of our junior fellows, Aram Khaghaghordyan and Roberto Kukutschka, presented findings from ERCAS’s research work at events in […]

24 Oct 2012

Russian NGO Implements Systematic Monitoring of Government Websites

The Russian NGO Freedom of Information Foundation (FIF) has developed a project dedicated to systematically monitoring the level of information openness on the official websites of government agencies in Russia. The project assesses the compliance of contents of governmental websites with freedom of information legislation and with information users’ needs. This year FIF has already published a […]

23 Oct 2012

Anti-Corruption Network in Thailand Receives UNDP Support

The Anti-Corruption Network (ACN) in Thailand, a watchdog initiated by the private sector, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a partnership declaration to strengthen the emergent coalition against corruption. The purpose of the new partnership is to promote collaboration within the network, share best practices in fighting corruption, raise awareness, develop advocacy […]

17 Oct 2012

Hertie School Hosts ANTICORRP Workshop

The Hertie School of Governance will be hosting on 18-20 October 2012 the 2nd meeting of the project ANTICORRP, funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). This meeting will gather participants of Work Packages 1, 2 and 3 in the form of a workshop for the discussion of theoretical and methodological questions that […]

09 Oct 2012

Corruption °C Publishes Data on Corruption Trials in Latvia

The portal Corruption °C, maintained by the Centre for Public Policy Providus from Latvia, has recently made available statistics on trials for offences committed in the public service in Latvia. The data has been collected by Providus and covers the period from 2004 to 2011. The statistics show the trend in total number of trials, […]

09 Oct 2012

20th OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum Discusses Anti-Corruption and Good Governance

The 20th Economic and Environmental Forum of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, focusing on “Promoting Security and Stability through Good Governance“, held its concluding meeting in Prague on 12-14 September 2012. Following the results of two preparatory meetings, which addressed the topics “Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism” and “Promoting […]

09 Oct 2012

Batory Foundation Launches Website on Political Finance in 7 Countries

The Stefan Batory Foundation, in cooperation with other seven NGOs*, has launched the website www.politicalfinance.org, devoted to analysing the regulation systems of campaign and political party financing in 7 countries: Armenia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Mongolia and Poland. The website is the result of a research project initiated in February 2012, whose goal was […]

02 Oct 2012

Freedom House Releases Freedom on the Net Report

Freedom House released last week its third report on Freedom on the Net, which assesses key trends in freedom of the internet, evaluating barriers to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights in 47 countries, from January 2011 to May 2012. The study was produced by over 50 researchers who have investigated laws […]

28 Sep 2012

ERCAS Director Discusses Corruption in Eastern Europe at Sida Event

ERCAS Director Prof. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi participated last month in the seminar “How can we fight corruption in Eastern Europe”, organised and hosted by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) in Stockholm, Sweden. She presented the findings of the study “Contextual Choices in Fighting Corruption: Lessons Learned”, commissioned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation […]

27 Sep 2012

“Thank You, I Don’t Take Bribes”- an Initiative to Remedy Corruption in the Slovak Health Care Sector

The Medical Trade Unions Association (LOZ) in Slovakia has recently launched an anti-bribery campaign to end the common practice of slipping white envelopes containing money in doctors’ pockets. According to an article by The Slovak Spectator, the campaign seeks to convince doctors throughout the country to wear badges reading “Thank you, I don’t take bribes”, […]

27 Sep 2012

Report Assesses TV Media Environment in Georgia

The interference of politics into Georgian media, particularly in the television sector, has been discussed in many studies on the country. A new report by Transparency International Georgia, released last month, re-examines this issue in light of the current electoral scenario. The study – entitled “Georgia’s Television Landscape” – finds that, despite recent changes in […]

24 Sep 2012

Visible Congress: an Initiative to Improve Transparency and Good Governance in Colombia

Civil society initiatives to monitor and disseminate information on Parliaments have emerged in several countries in the past years. In Latin America, a pioneer project of this kind, led by a group of students and academics from the University of the Andes in Colombia, has been active since 1998 and has by now become recognised […]

12 Sep 2012

Open Government Platform Launched in India

The Indian government, in collaboration with the United States, has launched earlier this year the project Open Government Platform (OGPL), where government data, documents, tools and processes are made publicly available in an open source format. This initiative is meant to allow analysts, media, academics and civil society to make use of public data more […]

31 Aug 2012

In Memoriam: Jeremy Pope

ERCAS is saddened by the passing of Jeremy Pope on August 29th. Pope was a key founder of the international anti-corruption movement, and made great contributions to bringing corruption to the top of the international agenda in the past two decades. He was the founding Managing Director of Transparency International (TI) from 1994 to 1998 […]

28 Aug 2012

Georgian Civil Society Coalition Calls for Changes in Electoral Legislation

In the run-up to the next parliamentary elections in Georgia, to take place in early October, a civil society campaign has sparked the debate on the need for changes in the country’s electoral legislation. The campaign entitled “This Affects You Too” has brought to the public attention potential restrictions to political liberties and participation created […]

27 Aug 2012

We Ate All Together: a Politician’s Approach to Corruption in Greece

Prominent Greek politician and former Deputy Prime Minister Theodore Pangalos sparked controversy in 2010, a few months after Greece’s first bailout package, after he claimed on television that everyone, not just politicians, were responsible for the squandering of public money. “We all ate together”, Pangalos said at the time. He then elaborated his statement in an […]