Azerbaijan

In all of the Eastern Partnership countries, patronage networks wield substantial influence over state institutions. State capture has occurred in all countries, and none have fully obtained strong or independent integrity systems. However, while systemic corruption remains an issue, there are encouraging signs that some of the countries that suffer from the most severe issues are taking steps to tackle corruption. Ukraine and Armenia, in particular, are currently engaged in ambitious and comprehensive reform programmes. These changes happened as a result of strong public mobilisation against corruption. At the other end of the scale, there is little substantial progress and political will to tackle state capture in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Moldova. Georgia, which has for a long time been a positive example of a reformist state emerging from the former Soviet Union, is the best performer on most governance indicators, but it still has some significant issues to tackle.

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