Written
by David Porter
Abstract
Global
peace relies on a network of individuals, organizations and systems.
Often we forget that
organizations
and systems can not function or exist without the individual. Each of
us carries a certain
amount
of responsibility for the actions of these organizations and systems.
As we build organizations
such
as governments and systems such as courts, the reality still remains
that both rely on the individual
to
ensure peace. Conversely, crime, war, violence and corruption also
rely on the individual to carry out
acts
that destroy peace. Looking deeply into this reality reveals the
complexity of global peace and the
importance
of the individual. The following work explores the relation between
the individual and global
peace.
Article on Global Peace and Corruption
The
nature of corruption must deal with the distrustful acts of those
seeking personal gain at the
expense
of others. One manifestation is the global economic crisis due to a
number of schemes and
loose
governance that has allowed global peace to subside. The Jasmine
Revolution is one such example
where
life and economic conditions felt by one person spread throughout the
world.
The
Jasmine Revolution began with the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi who was
a university graduate
working
as a street vendor. During Jan 2011 in Tunisia, Mr. Bouazizi had
experienced what he felt was
humiliation
and no hope for a better life under the current government. After
setting himself on fire the
people
of Tunisia demonstrated to end the corruption and poor management
within the Tunisian
government.
The demonstration did in fact bring down the Tunisian government and
spawned the Arab
Spring.
The Arab Spring movement has seen the governments in Libya and Egypt
topple. Currently the
governments
in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and others are facing opposition of all
degrees due to corruption
and
misspent leadership.
Further
to the Jasmine Revolution and the Arab Spring, there are other issues
that threaten global
peace.
These issues are the global human trafficking rings, weapons trades,
conflict resources and a vast
amount
of trade to further terrorist activities. All of these activities
comprise an effort to destabilize and
erode
global peace. How can we ensure global peace when so many daggers of
corruption are sinking
into
the body of peace?
There
is no doubt we have made great strides to ensure global peace. Due to
these successes we are
now
more aware of the scope and impact corruption has on global security.
For example, the ongoing
war
in the Democratic Republic of Congo is assisted indirectly through a
global network of criminal
capitalistic
consumerism. We have known this link exists for decades/centuries. It
is only the past few
years
that we have tuned into our role that assists the ongoing war. This
very example may indeed give
us
the perception that peace is very far away however, the opposite is
true.
For
our world to be at peace each of us must experience it on a personal
level, all 7.6 billion of us. The
leaders
we choose, how we act towards each other, how we think and how we
plan to solve our
problems
are very much linked to the greater society. The link begins with our
education, experience
and
expectations. These three elements shape our minds as we begin to
formulate plans which ensure
global
security. We have our own individual understanding of the world and
we express them through
our
actions. “Self-expression is thwarted at the root unless the
certainties we are asked to accept
coincide
with the certainties we experience.”1
In
terms of corruption, what are we being asked to accept as we analyse
the above quote? The certainty
we
are asked to accept in combatting corruption is a peaceful society.
If not a peaceful utopian society
then
at least some trusted semblance of predictable order is expected.
Where do we draw the line? Are
we
experiencing a measure of peace by tolerating some corruption?
Ultimately
this line will be determined by each and every one of us on an
individual basis. Even though
the
individual will always be the ultimate decider of where the line is
drawn, in order to provide a
2
definition
of where the line is, society has created rules. However rules change
which make the lines less
clear.
This is where leadership is most needed and the leaders are usually
politicians.
The
connection between global peace and politicians is very clear.
Anecdotally, there is a commonly
held
belief that politicians are untrustworthy. This belief is a major
point of battle which brings the
seeds
of corruption into the minds of everyone. For example, the elections
in the Republic of the United
States
are among those most closely watched. In the election held during
November 2012, for example,
the
public endured “attack ads” which were intended to destroy
opponents. Often these tactics blur the
facts.
In an article written about attack ads for the Responsibility
Project, this statement is made, “I've
never
seen more irresponsible personal attacks, mean-spirited slander, and
flat-out dishonest attack
ads,
and I don't expect that tone to change before the election.” 2
Examples such as these
attack ads are
often
defended using the cultural relativist3
argument. The argument
states that politics is a tough
business
and you have to have thick skin. That line is a moral decision and
often in the world of hawks
and
doves, moral stands get shouted down. However, attack ads are a
stepping stone which gives
credence
to behaviour that we know is unwanted. This behaviour of attacking,
destroying and deception
seeps
into the mindset of society. The buildup of such ideology evolves
into the vernacular which then
leads
to an even deeper level of shock value needed to create a similar
impact. With this knowledge we
must
ask ourselves how far is enough?
When
peaceful methods are shouted down it is due to the ingrained
understanding that the world is the
Hobbesian
state of nature and not a peaceful environment. This mindset is a
learned reality which at
some
point the individual must make the decision to agree with or see no
other viable option but to go
along
with it. Societies which fall into chaos are perfect examples of the
belief in the Hobbesian state of
nature.
An
example emerged with the second invasion of Iraq. At the time of the
invasion the world had made it
known
it was an illegal act yet still the world sat by and allowed it. As
the years played out we have
witnessed
many violations of human rights. Even as this piece is being written
the German courts are
looking
into the case of Khalid el-Masri.4
“The
European Court of Human Rights ruled that Khaled El-Masri, a German
car salesman was an innocent victim
of
torture and abuse. Khaled El-Masri says he was kidnapped from
Macedonia in 2003, mistaken for a terrorism
suspect,
then held for four months and brutally interrogated at an Afghan
prison known as the "Salt Pit" run by the
U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency. He says that once U.S. authorities
realized he was not a threat, they illegally sent
him
to Albania and left him on a mountainside.”5
Other
countries have also been looking into the treatment of prisoners
during the “war on terror” as
well
as those that were detained during “rendition” exercises. Such
activities that circumvent individual
3
rights
are cases which speak to the decay of individual and global peace. In
addition to the victim, those
that
carry out the torture must follow an ideology which rots the mind of
peace and therefore can be
seen
as victims too. These acts perpetuate the ideology that the world is
indeed a violent place. Such a
mindset
is the very beginnings of how each individual becomes comfortable
with corruption.
These
beliefs perpetuate and take shape through education. In essence it is
the corruption of the mind
which
can lead to deadly conflicts. These people are pawns and have been
educated to believe that
more
violence will bring an end to the greater global issue of cultural
and religious differences. We can
see
the carnage of religious martyrs that have been indoctrinated to
missions of suicide in order to seek
revenge.
How many countries have been torn apart due to religious beliefs
dominating political policy?
From
religion to politics to economics, such subjects envelope all facets
of life. In terms of economics we
can
trace the links of corruption through resources such as gold, oil and
diamonds, there are others too.
In
the late 1990s, so strong was the lure of eastern DRC gold,
casserite, and coltan, that neighbouring countries of Uganda and
Rwanda
invaded with proxy militias and their own armies. In 2000, the
Rwandan military and politicians made $250 million
moving
coltan out of eastern DRC to Western-based mining companies. Metal
traders then sold the resources to companies
that
manufactured parts for the likes of Sony and Motorola to make cell
phones, video game consoles, and computers valuable
to
western personal technology. This conflict, waged in part so the West
can have its personal electronics, cost the lives of
three
to five million Congolese and other Africans, according to many
NGOs.6
As
mentioned, it is the lure of acquiring some commodity or status over
others that fuels the
destabilization
of peace. We can look to Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge as an example
where peace
had
almost completely been lost. From the smallest village to the largest
of cities society was held
captive
due to ideology and corruption. Such corruption is a multilayered
operation, made very
apparent
in Iraq and Cambodia. One of the longest battles the world has
witnessed in recent years deals
with
the mining/resources in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Within
the quoted piece by John
Lasker
above, the link is obvious as to the participation of the individual
to global peace. The trade of
such
resources provides the finances to continue the suppression of
others.
It
is obvious that the fight to maintain or increase global peace hinges
on the reduction of corruption.
Over
the past few years we have witnessed many influences which spawned
violent chaos (Iraq, Libya,
Syria
and Egypt), economic collapse(United States and Greece) and many
environmental disasters
deforestation,
industrial waste and pollution (India, Brazil and Nigeria). In each
of these cases there have
been
macro level operators and micro level operators (individuals and
organizations). Participation in
corruption
must also take into account the financing of terrorism. The issue of
financing terrorism is one
that
has gathered a great deal of attention in recent years. Dean C.
Alexander discusses this matter in his
book
Business Confronts Terrorism.7
As
such practices take root in any society, eventually these practices
will become part of the
culture/fabric
of society, which leads to cultural relativistic acceptance. “Day
to day corruption
corresponds
to bad cultural habits which paves the way to grand corruption. The
existence of petty
corruption
is often the sign that you are in a country exposed to grand
corruption.”8 That
quote also
sums
up the point why attack ads erode peace. If the political leaders do
not emulate peaceful conduct,
the
entire system is put into question. In conflict zones, attacks by
political leadership has usurped
4
peace.
Further to that, development in post conflict areas is rife with
political corruption due to the
culture
and chaos of war, which becomes ingrained as a normal way of life.
Post-conflict
development needs to reduce corruption, facilitate effective
governance and promote environmentally sound,
socially equitable, economically robust sustainable development that
requires re-evaluation of existing policies,
strategies, legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional
arrangements, then adjust accordingly.9
When
the system, method and/or rules of society are put into question,
wide spread distrust and social
breakdown
can occur. Sometimes the breakdown results in massive protests such
as the Occupy
Movement.
Other times social breakdown results in war as in Syria. What remains
will be the need for
society
and the individual to formulate a new reality where corruption and
violence end or at least are
greatly
reduced. For many organizations one system/method of peacebuilding
involves the building of
state
institutions of democracy and capitalist economies. “Tackling
corruption is part of ‘liberal
peacebuilding’,
which seeks to consolidate peace through democracy and free market
economies.”10
During
the past few years there has been a grand debate which concerns the
ideology of peacebuilding,
which
corruption is a major issue. “Approaches
to peacebuilding are often controversial. In particular,
the
effectiveness and appropriateness of promoting liberal democracy and
market economics in volatile
conflict-prone
societies are contested.”11
This
liberal peacebuilding is a top down approach which
neglects
the input of the average person and relies on what is known as the
“trickle down effect”12.
The
problem
with a trickle down approach is that trickling is what takes place.
The promise of change is a
slow
(if at all), minimal flow of change and sharing.
“Promises
to people create problems, if failed to fulfill. However, development
has great potentials for achieving stability
and peace and addressing expectations of people if available
resources are used transparently, following good
governance principles and rule of law. Political interference,
bureaucratic manipulation, corruption and malgovernance are
the deadly bottlenecks for development sector.”13
Looking
back to the Harold Laski quote,“Self-expression
is thwarted at the root unless the certainties we
are
asked to accept coincide with the certainties we experience.”14,
the
people are asked to accept
peace,
democracy, free markets. The most glaring problem in a post conflict
society is that peace,
democracy,
and honest governance/society are rarely experienced. This creates
the understanding that
a
new dictator has come into power. The way of life has changed and a
new way is being forced upon
them.
5
We
are asked to believe in a democratic system because it is supposed to
foster global peace, order and
good
government. What is missing is the understanding that the people who
live in post conflict and
conflict
areas know that corruption is a part of life for people in countries
like Canada. That reality only
gives
further support to engage in corruption as the examples of peace,
order and good governance also
engage
in corruption.15 With
that in mind, we must step back and look at the poor governance
worldwide.
Why
is the current economic collapse taking place? Why did the world
stand by and allow the illegal
invasion
of Iraq to happen? Why has it taken so long to bring small arms and
light weapons treaties into
force
and many other valid issues/questions. “Corruption should not only
be ‘fought’ in domestic
governance
at the state level, but must also be addressed in a broader sense at
multiple sites and
interconnections.”
16
On
a micro level, we can look at the peace process in Libya as an
example of the difficulties with
engaging
the people and the society. “What complicates Libya's peace process
is the regionalism and
tribalism,
enmeshed with clan-type politics. What is needed for the protection
of tolerance is both
short-term
and long-term legal, political, social, educational and religious
sets of solutions to curb the
assault
of Libya's nascent peace process.”17
Again, there is a
disconnect with the reality people are asked
to
accept and the one they are experiencing in Libya. However, on a
global scale there is progress being
made.
Our
collective experience throughout history has proven that areas which
have the least amount of
corruption
also experience the most peace. Comparing data compiled by
Transparency International and
the
Institute for Economics and Peace (Appendix 1) with the information
compiled within the Global
Peace
Index (Appendix 2), the correlation between peace and corruption is
easily understood.
Comparing
the least corrupt societies to the most peaceful societies, these
countries are very similar. In
the
face of such truth, we must ask why this is. The challenge is to act
upon on those findings as we build
a
society where corruption is no longer a threat to peace. We can
strive for total eradication of
corruption
but in reality there will always be some form of corruption.
Although
the main consequences of corruption are overwhelmingly negative, functionalist
arguments about corruption suggest that some forms of corruption may
occasionally have positive effects. Corruption may help in securing
some
degree
of political, economic and social stability. Although corruption
needs to be
‘rooted out’ as early as possible, it is often very difficult
rapidly and effectively to
address local sources of grievances and conflict. In this respect,
some of the political and
social effects of corruption may provide a short-term solution –
such as buying
out ‘peace spoilers’ or authorizing illegal but licit (i.e.
accepted by custom or
morality) economic activities that sustain local livelihoods.18
6
As
mentioned above, we must deal with the individual and the
organization (in all its manifestations).
Both
realms have many layers and complications. Due to the reality that
people make up the
organizational
realm, measures to govern both realms must be created. It is
paramount that we
understand
the personal realm ultimately will ensure a peaceful global society.
Participation in
corruption
is a choice each of us must make every day. “The risk always is
that the freedom which choice
and
participation imply might not be used well and wisely where upon,
corruption and collapse may
follow.”19
Within that quote we come
across the issue of participation.
Participation
is a main ingredient, which is represented by the term
self-expression. How we choose to
act
or express ourselves is an ongoing fact of life. The choices we make
are the components to which
self-expression
takes form. Sometimes there are events where the wishes of the people
do not coincide
with
the actions of government. In such circumstances we may see
individuals revolt, call for
resignations,
protest and sometimes turn to acts of war.
As
distrusting situations progress, peace erodes within a community and
if left unchecked, the
community
will fall into chaos. For societies where life is a daily Hobbesian
state of nature, struggle and
distrust
will thrive and become ordinary. “Corruption is the norm and often
seen as the only way to be
successful
in many countries. That ideology permeates into the minds of the
people, including the
youth.
Frustration with the government’s mismanagement leads to increased
unrest among youths and
students.”20
This exact scenario is
playing out in Greece, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and many other
countries
around the world.
In
the most rudimentary understanding of securing global peace, we have
come to understand that each
of
us has a responsibility to each other. This responsibility we carry
is to ensure that others can trust
each
other to be peaceful. When distrust is evident, organizations must be
formed to ensure a peaceful
society.
Now because organizations are made up of individuals there will
(inevitably) be corrupt
organizations.
Slowly, our efforts have been improving the overall situation as
organizations are being
brought
under the adherence of laws. One example of such an initiative to
manage global schemes is
the
United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Article 13 of that
convention speaks to the role of
government
(Appendix 3).21
We
have been asked to act locally yet think globally. This mindset asks
that we believe in a common
vision
to some degree. “The citizen today is forced into an international
outlook without any experience
of
what a world-civilization means”.22
We are also asking, what
is global peace? As we seek such
answers
we are piecing the parameters of understanding together.
As
we piece together these parameters, there have been many efforts made
to enshrine common
values,
laws and systems to combat corruption. Within
the study of peace, there has been the focus of
transitional
peace which studies the theories being applied as people transit from
violent conflict to
peace.
“One strategy to confront corruption problems is the systems
approach. The systems approach
offers
a set of practices for describing and solving complex problems. Its
focus of attention goes beyond
7
the
individual parts and covers ‘the whole’ and the connections
between interacting parts.”23
It
is the
connecting
parts of corruption that needs to be a focus for programs. The
connections between macro
level
organizations and the individual (micro) will offer insight as to why
and how these connections are
made,
thus giving valuable information as to how to curb expansion of
corruption.
A
number of efforts have been made to uncover the truth of how a major
conflict grew out of control.
One
such example is with Rwanda. Initiatives such as Truth and
Reconciliation, sought out the impact
and
the reality of life as the violence spun out of control. The world
had to understand the failures of
society
so that lessons could be learned. In tandem with the national program
of Truth and
Reconciliation
there are restorative justice programs in communities which seek out
similar answers.
Ultimately
these programs are experiments in transitional peace work. Through
these programs we are
learning
that the end of violence is only a portion of the battle. The culture
of corruption and distrust is
a
battle that rages long after the violence stops.
Truth
and Reconciliation programs seek to form a common understanding of
how peace is eroded. To
engage
in these exercises is to bring a common goal for society to focus on.
“Building common values
had
reached a pinnacle with the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
Among the signatories were
leaders
of some of the most oppressive and aggressive regimes on earth; yet
they too agreed to uphold
the
Declaration’s values to combat violence, terror and crime”.24
The
United Nations has been in the business of peace and order from its
birth. In addition, there are
many
organizations that have sought to bring order to the world. The
number of such organizations
grows
daily. “With governments committing huge sums of resources to solve
the world’s most pressing
problems,
corruption is an obstacle to achieving much needed progress.”25
A
few other initiatives that have come into being are:
Transparency
International In
1993, a few individuals decided to take a stance against corruption
and
created
Transparency International.26
Responsibility
to Protect("RtoP"
or "R2P") is a new international security and human rights
norm to
address
the international community’s failure to prevent and stop
genocides, war crimes, ethnic
cleansing
and crimes against humanity. 27
International
Association of Anti-corruption Authorities,
The establishment of the International
Association
of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) was initiated at the
High-Level Political Conference
for
the Purpose of Signing the United Nations Convention against
Corruption (UNCAC) in Merida, Mexico
in
December 2003, and has since received enthusiastic support among the
various anti-corruption
8
authorities
in many countries, as well as critical advice from the United Nations
Office on Drugs and
Crime
(UNODC) at Vienna.28
“Crimes
of corruption, illegal trading of Small Arms and Light Weapons(SALW),
and human trafficking
are
common border-related activities.”29
These
activities/scenarios can not take place unless an
individual
crosses borders and the official (if present) allows the crossing. In
either situation the
individual
is ensuring the current level of peace is maintained and possibly
increased. Even though there
are
efforts being made on the macro level there has to be an effort on
the micro level. This reality
indicates
the need for international organizations to work together as well as
individuals.
The
lasting impact of corruption on both society and the individual
should not be underestimated. For
example,
the society/culture that has evolved throughout history in both
Congo’s provides ample
evidence.
“When Belgian business men transformed the Congo into a nightmare
of unspeakable horror,
that
was for personal gain couched in the profit making motive.”30
This example shows how
personal
choices
were not concerned with the wellbeing of an entire society/culture.
Once personal gain is put
before
societal peace and cohesion the destructive power of corruption takes
hold for generations. We
can
see the impact on the Congolese people. The culture that exists has
been exposed to distrust,
violence,
poverty, ruin and corruption for so long that it has become
normalized. Perhaps Hobbes would
point
to this culture as proof to his state of nature?
We
can see similar states of existence in Afghanistan, Columbia,
Pakistan and Iraq. Such realities are not
limited
to countries experiencing violent chaos. The current state of global
economics has fallen due to a
lack
of governance in the countries that are proclaimed to be “beacons
of society”(Western civilization).
Within
the “beacons of society” the last few years 2006 – 2012, the
world has seen a number of events
that
have chipped away at global peace. The most evident has been labeled
as the “housing bubble”,
“sub-prime
fiasco”, “credit crunch”, “bank collapse” as various “ponzi
schemes” are brought into the
open.
To state the case of those labels here is a quote to support the
claims in relation to the U.S.
financial
crisis that came to a head in 2008.
“The
deregulation in financial markets and institutions as well as the
easy money policy had increased lending, liquidity,
greed, “innovations”, corruption, speculation, and prices in
financial and real assets (stocks and real estate,
housing) which caused two other enormous bubbles, “the stocks
bubble” and “the housing bubble”. Some people
(“the world’s planners”) burst the bubbles in 2008, creating
the worst housing and financial crisis, which in 2009
was followed by the most severe recession in modern economic
history.”31
In
comparison we can look back to the lack of governance during the
1920's which allowed the
circumstances
of the great depression and the current economic situation to unfold.
If such situations
can
happen in countries with strong governance structures, imagine how
easily and prolific the
corruption
is in post-conflict countries.
9
The
information in appendix 2 indicates that such a large scale of
economic collapse should not happen
yet
that is exactly what transpired. In the more stable societies of the
world where the rule of law and
wide
spread civility are the norm, corruption is expected to be held to a
degree that is easily managed.
However,
the current economic collapse was the fault of corrupt business
practices in stable societies.
There
are many examples throughout history where loose governance brought
untold harm to the
world.
On the political side, the illegal invasion of Iraq has been a grand
example of how difficult it was
for
global governance systems to enforce international law. These
economic and political examples
highlight
the vast challenges we face as everyone will be impacted.
Using
the second invasion of Iraq as an example, such a reality is one that
touches upon moralistic
reasons
for global peace. The question we are left with is how do we attain
peace and equality when a
might
makes right attitude prevails? Let us think about the following
quote, “Violent entrepreneurship is
the
concept of organized force to be converted into money or other
assets.32 In
some respect the Iraq
invasion
is understood as securing oil resources and in other respects it is
seen as a global security war
on
terrorism. Either reason will not negate the fact that the invasion
of Iraq in 2003 is an illegal act. If
the
reason was to secure oil or even peace, there has been an organized
illegal force put upon a people
to
secure an asset – be it peace or oil.
On
a global scale, the Iraq invasion is an example of how a few
individual countries acted in a corrupt
manner.
Bringing that reality to light, the question of how to enforce
international law and governance
is
not easily answered in the face of violent entrepreneurship and might
makes right mentality. The
invasion
of Iraq was a blatant act of disrespect towards global systems which
were invented to bring
order
to a violent world.
“No
doubt more books will be written, noting the massive corruption, the
overkill of pouring billions of dollars into poor,
occupied countries, the disorganisation behind the effort, the
pointlessly self-serving vanity projects - internet classes
in towns without electricity - and the abysmal quality of the greedy
contractors, on-the-make corporations and
lame bureaucrats sent in to do the job. Even former National Security
Adviser and Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, George W Bush's accomplice in the invasion of Iraq, now admits
that "we didn't understand how broken
Iraq was as a society. We should have worked with the tribes. We
should have worked with the provinces. We
should have had smaller projects than the large ones that we had"33
Iraq
is not an isolated case. Many post conflict operations have enormous
problems with corruption.
Nepal
is one such country.
There
exists a plethora of literature and evidence to suggest that
development in Nepal so far has failed miserably. This
has happened because of many diverse factors, including
centralisation in Kathmandu of both the government and
the private structures, widespread corruption and abuse of authority
by bureaucrats and politicians, overdependence on
foreign aid, failure of donors to ensure the proper use of their
funds and effective coordination of their
activities and the exclusion of large sections of the population from
a role in devising policy and programme development,
to name a few.34
10
In
both societies of Nepal and Iraq the culture of corruption is an
emergent problem. As long as the
chaos
of conflict continues, the greater the culture of violence is
entrenched and the entire society is
enveloped
in a spiral of corruption. “Fraudulent police and border controls
become very susceptible to
bribery
and corruption during war. This corruptness of law enforcement and
military personnel, allows
criminals
to function.”35 As
the situation continues, the conflict will rage on until the people
revolt again.
“Corruption
and malpractices during the supply of medicines and rations to police
are frequent. Resisting the wrong
and illegitimate order of senior officers becomes always a fire-test.
In contrary, such issues remained unheeded
for a long run. It had to come out in a volcanic way, and it did.
Police revolt in Nepalgunj followed by some
other disputes is the crystal exemplification of such inner conflict
within police bureau.”36
The
quote above shows the need for governments and citizens to work in
tandem, not opposite or
separate.
Such a working relationship is paramount in a globally peaceful
society. The most difficult part
is
that change is slow and there are so many thoughts on governance and
how to achieve peace.
Whenever
governance is discussed, people form their own opinions about how
governments should
and
could be run. “The core objective of governance is to build
effective and legitimate structures that
secure
personal security, equal justice and the rule of law”.37
Within that ideology
there has to be
acceptance
of these structures. The structures that are built must have a wide
base of support and belief
in
the equality of its function. This wide support is a challenge to
both community and global
governance
structures.
One
of the largest issues in developing a broad governance structure is
finding the balance of legitimacy,
accountability
and authority. Furthermore, the challenge of connecting the
importance of both the
individual
and society/organizations to share responsibility is a constant
battle. This ideology has been a
foundation
of every peaceful society and it remains true today. “Too often
there is reliance on highly
personalized
and centralized systems of governance in which corruption is rampant
and civil servants
are
inadequately trained for their respective offices. In such
circumstances, there is a general lack of
accountability
at all levels of government.”38
Reconstituting
legitimacy in post-conflict states involves
expanding
participation and inclusiveness, reducing inequities, creating
accountability, combating
corruption
and introducing contestability (elections).39
In
every example provided that deals with cultural, organizational
and/or societal corruption, we must
be
aware of the systemic violence/oppression which is created. “Systemic
violence/oppression refers to
the
institutionalization of such practices into mainstream society.”40
For
example such ideology allowed
the
detention of Khalid
el-Masri .
The Rwandan genocide is another example to take place as well as
11
other
ethnic crimes to be committed all over the world. There is also the
fight that Mahatma Gandhi
took
up to end the oppression of the “Untouchables” in India. As we
look for ways to control corruption
we
must view corruption as a method of oppression. With that view we
have the question of how, if at
all,
have we defeated oppression?
In
an effort to answer the above question, two community development
principles state41:
1
The
most effective way to overcome major sources of discontent is to
identify the concern within a
community,
stimulate that discontent and turn it into wise use of anger so that
community members
want
to do something about their situation.
2
Channel
the anger onto the sources of the discontent and develop long and
short term strategies to
change
the situation.
The
above two principals are emulated within efforts to build peace and
end corruption. A tangible
example
of the two principals is also evident in the Kimberley process. “The
Kimberley Process (KP) is a
joint
government, industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of
conflict diamonds – rough
diamonds
used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate
governments.”42
By
instituting
laws/practices
of this nature, we are seeking to build legitimate, peaceful,
trusting systems.
Relating
our efforts to curb corruption to the Laski quote, a person must
experience the freedom to
voice
concerns about all facets of society. A person must experience the
benefits of responsibility for
participation
in building peaceful societies. As these experiences are nurtured,
the individual will employ
the
culture of peace when operating within the macro level of society. In
turn there will be rules built to
acknowledge
both the individual and the organizations of society. The rules will
help foster an
environment
where a person will be able to live a life knowing there is a fair
and equal system in place. If
that
system is not protected we are on the path to violent chaos.
In
conclusion, we must understand that global peace begins in the mind
of the individual as does
corruption.
Through the individual our governments, corporations and societies
take shape. Legitimate,
trustful
systems are icons of peace for the people to emulate and believe in.
Within that ideology, the
individual
is relied upon to participate to ensure a peaceful society. As
always, there will be difficulties
with
governance while corruption works to be as unknown as possible. To
ensure a peaceful society we
need
to at least envision so we can experience a peaceful society. “We
share a planet and we need
common
rules to guide our actions… We are becoming more and more dependent
on each other and let
us
hope this will lead to our understanding and respecting each other
better.”43
12
Appendix
1
Transparency
International 2010 corruption Index
http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/
Top
Ten (least corrupt) Bottom Ten (most corrupt)
Rank
Country Score
1
- 10
Rank
Country Score 1-10
1
Denmark 9.3 168 Equatorial Guinea
1.9
1
New Zealand 9.3 170 Burundi 1.8
1
Singapore 9.3 171 Chad 1.7
4
Finland 9.2 172 Sudan 1.6
4
Sweden 9.2 172 Turkmenistan 1.6
6
Canada 8.9 172 Uzbekistan 1.6
7
Netherlands 8.8 175 Iraq 1.5
8
Australia 8.7 176 Afghanistan 1.4
8
Switzerland 8.7 176 Myanmar 1.4
10
Norway 8.6 178 Somalia 1.1
13
Appendix
2
World
map of the Global Peace Index 2011. Countries appearing green are
ranked as more
peaceful,
countries appearing red and black are ranked as less peaceful.
http://economicsandpeace.org/publications
Appendix
3
Participation
of society
1.
Each State Party shall take appropriate measures, within its means
and
in
accordance with fundamental principles of its domestic law, to
promote the
active
participation of individuals and groups outside the public sector,
such as
civil
society, non-governmental organizations and community-based
organizations,
in
the prevention of and the fight against corruption and to raise
public
awareness
regarding the existence, causes and gravity of and the threat posed
by
corruption.
This participation should be strengthened by such measures as:
(a)
Enhancing the
transparency of and promoting the contribution of the
public
to decision-making processes;
(b)
Ensuring that
the public has effective access to information;
(c)
Undertaking
public information activities that contribute to non-tolerance
of
corruption, as well as public education programmes, including
school
and university curricula;
(d)
Respecting,
promoting and protecting the freedom to seek, receive,
publish
and disseminate information concerning corruption. That freedom may
be
subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are
provided for
by
law and are necessary:
(i)
For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(ii)
For the protection of national security or ordre
public or of
public health or morals.
2.
Each State Party shall take appropriate measures to ensure that the
relevant
anti-corruption bodies referred to in this Convention are known to
the
public
and shall provide access to such bodies, where appropriate, for the
reporting,
including
anonymously, of any incidents that may be considered to
constitute
an offence established in accordance with this Convention.
14
1
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Dangers of Obedience and Other Essays. Harper & Row, 1930. Pg.
29.
2
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in America. The Responsibility Project. 10 Sept 2012. Retrieved from
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3
Cultural relativism is a
term that describes a commonly held belief or practice within a
defined group
4
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abuse of Khaled el-Masri. The Guardian. 13 Dec.
2012.
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place and relying on those to filter throughout
society.
Sivapalan, V. The failure of ‘trickle down’ poliices. Digital
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Dangers of Obedience and Other Essays. Harper & Row, 1930. Pg.
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down at the whim of the current leader, voter
tampering
scandals, organized crime within construction, spies with in the
military, meat processing plants
contaminating
world food supplies, etc…
16
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Post-Conflict Corruption. International Peacekeeping,
Vol.
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17
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Post-Conflict Corruption. International Peacekeeping,
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utopian writing 1516-1700. Cambridge University
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of Women's Participation in Conflict and post-Conflict
Situations
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21
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23
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threat to international security and conflict
resolution:
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International Report series 1,
Swedish
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24
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Terror and the Future of Global Order. Palgrave
MacMillian,
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25
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International. Corruption Perceptions Index 2010. October 2010. pg.
2.
26
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http://www.transparency.org/whoweare/organisation
28
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http://www.iaaca.org/AboutIAACA/BriefIntroduction/201103/t20110316_513122.shtml
29
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Remake of a State: Post-
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31
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“Laissez-faire, Laissez-passer” Economic
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Remake of a State: Post-
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35
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Conflict and post-Conflict Situations
since
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Remake of a State: Post-
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37
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For Post conflict Countries and
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