The tradition of abusing political
power for personal gain goes
back to antiquity, as does the
debate over whether corruption is
a necessary cultural vice in a
country's development or a
cancer that must be obliterated
for a society to progress. A topic
less covered, however, is what is behind the counter-corruption current.
In the past year or so, a striking number of scandals have been exposed, anti-corruption campaigns launched, probes deepened and leaders toppled over corruption charges. Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras, now the most indebted company in the world, is at the center of the biggest corruption scandal in the country's history; dozens of business executives and politicians, including the heads of the upper and lower houses of Brazil's legislature and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, are under investigation. In Mexico, President Enrique Pena Nieto has been heavily scrutinized for granting big contracts to companies that also sold him houses on favorable terms and for abruptly canceling a contract with a Chinese-led consortium for high-speed rail because of corruption allegations, as well as after the brazen escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from federal prison. In Guatemala, a U.S.-backed anti-corruption investigative committee forced the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina, while in Honduras, another U.S.-led anti-corruption investigation has taken down one of the country's wealthiest and most politically connected families.
In Zurich, a U.S. and Swiss investigation has brought down on bribery charges the once untouchable Sepp Blatter, who headed FIFA, the global governing body for soccer. Elsewhere in Europe, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is barely holding onto his seat while standing trial for tax evasion and money laundering. And an already fragile government in neighboring Moldova could fall any day now as mass protests persist over more than $1 billion that suspiciously vanished from the country's three largest banks.
Further east, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is working every institutional lever he can to neutralize corruption charges against himself, his son and a group of former ministers before he faces off against a vengeful opposition in a second round of elections. Chinese President Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-corruption probe is surging ahead after rounding up the biggest tiger yet, former security czar and former Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang and his network of powerful allies. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing a series of no-confidence votes following allegations that the state development fund had deposited $700 million in his personal bank account.
Meanwhile, foreign investors and Nigerians alike are waiting for action after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari came to power with the promise of pursuing an aggressive anti-corruption campaign. In a desperate attempt to defuse mass street protests, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider alAbadi launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that does away with sectarian-allotted government posts.
The list could go on, but the trend is discernable: Around the globe, and under a variety of circumstances, the momentum to expose and crush corruption appears to be building. Even the most presumably immune members of the political elite in many countries have to watch their backs much more carefully than before.
The question then becomes why. We could assume that the world is collectively cleaning up its act and that international bodies promoting good governance and investigative reporters, aided by social media distribution channels, are having more success in mobilizing the public to demand more from their leaders. But nothing is that simple. Even in the list of cases cited above, there are great differences in each country's stage of economic growth, internal political climate and geopolitical circumstances.
read more https://dub118.mail.live.com/Handlers/ImageProxy.mvc?bicild=&canary=f3PNAQZsz4dg1ZaxC5viXuhL14WOp9KnUsIwWPyVoZE%3d0&url=http%3a%2f%2fcta-image-cms2.hubspot.com%2fctas%2fv2%2fpublic%2fcs%2fil%2f%3fpg%3df9925bd4-1515-4892-b11f-179f16a8cbf3%26pid%3d515194%26ecid%3dACsprvv1h9D61gJBh99uOk2qWOWw65oTuhHnFdWbn_s1pmtjTgvQkfgThFMucZ5hUBufTfvgeKO6
By Reva Bhalla
sourche: http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/515194/G-Weekly/gweekly_151027.pdf?hsCtaTracking=f9925bd4-1515-4892-b11f-179f16a8cbf3%7Cbc7fdbd6-ec62-4a19-b91d-fcfb8a4feef2&utm_campaign=B2C+Workflow1&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-97f9CyOCS8ajlooyFkQ6khx7sPjyALZEs9wWyo3QdWYj60BiXmSWDuyDyVxA5N-J_iBzkaghw78sEzwcJ4VZYx0NJmkw&_hsmi=21884323&utm_source=hs_automation&utm_content=19648317
In the past year or so, a striking number of scandals have been exposed, anti-corruption campaigns launched, probes deepened and leaders toppled over corruption charges. Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras, now the most indebted company in the world, is at the center of the biggest corruption scandal in the country's history; dozens of business executives and politicians, including the heads of the upper and lower houses of Brazil's legislature and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, are under investigation. In Mexico, President Enrique Pena Nieto has been heavily scrutinized for granting big contracts to companies that also sold him houses on favorable terms and for abruptly canceling a contract with a Chinese-led consortium for high-speed rail because of corruption allegations, as well as after the brazen escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from federal prison. In Guatemala, a U.S.-backed anti-corruption investigative committee forced the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina, while in Honduras, another U.S.-led anti-corruption investigation has taken down one of the country's wealthiest and most politically connected families.
In Zurich, a U.S. and Swiss investigation has brought down on bribery charges the once untouchable Sepp Blatter, who headed FIFA, the global governing body for soccer. Elsewhere in Europe, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is barely holding onto his seat while standing trial for tax evasion and money laundering. And an already fragile government in neighboring Moldova could fall any day now as mass protests persist over more than $1 billion that suspiciously vanished from the country's three largest banks.
Further east, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is working every institutional lever he can to neutralize corruption charges against himself, his son and a group of former ministers before he faces off against a vengeful opposition in a second round of elections. Chinese President Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-corruption probe is surging ahead after rounding up the biggest tiger yet, former security czar and former Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang and his network of powerful allies. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing a series of no-confidence votes following allegations that the state development fund had deposited $700 million in his personal bank account.
Meanwhile, foreign investors and Nigerians alike are waiting for action after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari came to power with the promise of pursuing an aggressive anti-corruption campaign. In a desperate attempt to defuse mass street protests, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider alAbadi launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that does away with sectarian-allotted government posts.
The list could go on, but the trend is discernable: Around the globe, and under a variety of circumstances, the momentum to expose and crush corruption appears to be building. Even the most presumably immune members of the political elite in many countries have to watch their backs much more carefully than before.
The question then becomes why. We could assume that the world is collectively cleaning up its act and that international bodies promoting good governance and investigative reporters, aided by social media distribution channels, are having more success in mobilizing the public to demand more from their leaders. But nothing is that simple. Even in the list of cases cited above, there are great differences in each country's stage of economic growth, internal political climate and geopolitical circumstances.
read more https://dub118.mail.live.com/Handlers/ImageProxy.mvc?bicild=&canary=f3PNAQZsz4dg1ZaxC5viXuhL14WOp9KnUsIwWPyVoZE%3d0&url=http%3a%2f%2fcta-image-cms2.hubspot.com%2fctas%2fv2%2fpublic%2fcs%2fil%2f%3fpg%3df9925bd4-1515-4892-b11f-179f16a8cbf3%26pid%3d515194%26ecid%3dACsprvv1h9D61gJBh99uOk2qWOWw65oTuhHnFdWbn_s1pmtjTgvQkfgThFMucZ5hUBufTfvgeKO6
By Reva Bhalla
sourche: http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/515194/G-Weekly/gweekly_151027.pdf?hsCtaTracking=f9925bd4-1515-4892-b11f-179f16a8cbf3%7Cbc7fdbd6-ec62-4a19-b91d-fcfb8a4feef2&utm_campaign=B2C+Workflow1&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-97f9CyOCS8ajlooyFkQ6khx7sPjyALZEs9wWyo3QdWYj60BiXmSWDuyDyVxA5N-J_iBzkaghw78sEzwcJ4VZYx0NJmkw&_hsmi=21884323&utm_source=hs_automation&utm_content=19648317
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