Working Group XII: Corruption

Chair

The world is a place of very diverse histories, populations, cultures, religions, transitions and political, economic, ideological, technological and social realities. One notable threat to all countries (developed or developing) is the magnitude and manifestations of Corruption. Definitions, conceptions, connotations and expositions abound.

Corruption in simple terms is a global menace, normally associated with dishonesty, abuse of office, authority, position or power, greed, personal and illicit benefit at the expense of others undertaken normally in secrecy and criminal in nature. Corruption occurs in different scales and varying proportions. Literature on this cancer cuts across disciplines, discourses and paradigms and is prevalent in many sectors.

What is unequivocally clear is that this multi-layered, multi-faceted, complex and complicated phenomenon undermines inter alia., democracy, government, governance, development, rule of law, accountability, harms a country’s repute and deters trade and investment, distorting markets and the performance of economies, has negative effects on the environment for the present and the future generations, has profound consequences for society, especially the poor and marginalised by violating trust, human rights and increasing inequality.

Corruption has become an endemic evil and according to Albert Einstein “the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but those who watch them without doing anything”. There is no blue print solution to corruption, given different situations and conditions across the globe. To address it, requires holistic, all-inclusive and multi-thronged approaches.

This Working Group invites innovative, pioneering and original contributions from varying perspectives including but not limited to the following broad themes:

1. 1 . The human (sociological, psychological, economic, cultural) consequences and realities of corruption.
2. 2 . The political/administrative conundrum and dimensions.
3. 3 . Organisational perspectives, challenges, reforms (power relationships, structures, systems, processes and practices).
4. 4 . Trends, reflections and manifestations of corruption in the public and private sectors.
5. 5 . Interplay of ethics, transparency, accountability, trust and good governance.
6. 6 . Relationship between leadership and management to address the scourge of corruption.
7. 7 . Role and impact of anti-corruption agencies, media, civil society and other stakeholders.

The fight against corruption is everybody’s responsibility!