Centre for the Study of Corruption

Fighting corruption is both a technical and a political process. In this post, CSC Director Liz David-Barrett argues that an ‘A20’ group of academics could inject much-needed evidence and learning into the work of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, providing technical support for this high-level political process. This is the fourth blog post in the CSC’s series ‘The role of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group in influencing the global agenda’.

Assessing the 11-year-long experience of the G20’s Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) M. Emilia Berazategui argues that it is time for the G20 ACWG to focus on implementation. As she writes, the anti-corruption commitments made are often not new, repeating promises that were already made, and not follow through, before. This year represents an occasion for the Italian presidency to set a new standard. This is the third blog post in the CSC’s series ‘The role of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group in influencing the global agenda’.

Informal cooperation between law enforcement authorities is crucial in countering different forms of crime, including corruption. But, as Dr Nassar Abaalkhail writes, authorities in many countries are not empowered enough to engage in such cooperation. The Riyadh Initiative towards the creation of a Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities (GlobE) aims to enhance direct contact between anti-corruption law enforcement authorities, thus helping a wider range of countries to engage in international cooperation. This is the second blog post in the CSC’s series ‘The role of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group in influencing the global agenda’.

In reflecting on the work of the G20’s Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG), Phil Mason explains that while grand international summits often consist in more ‘theatre’ than substance, they can nevertheless provide important avenues for reform. As he writes, “these processes can be powerful, if virtually invisible, engines of quiet change”. But, as the balance between words and action remains vastly out of kilter, a much stronger focus on implementation is essential to make the exercise worthwhile. This is the first blog post in the CSC’s series ‘The role of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working group in influencing the global agenda’.