The role of civil society organisations in countering transnational corruption

This Anti-Corruption Helpdesk brief was produced in response to a query from a U4 Partner Agency. The U4 Helpdesk is operated by Transparency International in collaboration with the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre based at the Chr. Michelsen Institute.

Query

Please provide an overview of work by civil society organisations (CSOs) that have the most impact on exposing and fighting transnational corruption. What are some of the enabling conditions for their success?

Civil society organisations (CSOs) can help to prevent, detect, investigate cases of transnational corruption and advocate for addressing systemic loopholes, improve standards and rules, and strengthen institutions. Several factors such as the freedom of press, ability to cooperate with other CSOs and intergovernmental organisations, open data, and sustainable funding facilitates this anti-corruption work.

Contents

1. Background
2. Interventions led by civil society organisations
   1. Policy reform
   2. Exposure and evidence generation
   3. Technical expertise and capacity building
   4. Enforcement
3. The enabling conditions for success
   1. Protected civic space
   2. Sustainable funding
   3. Open data
   4. Entry points to intergovernmental organisations and global fora
   5. Strategic litigation for anti-corruption
   6. Initiating asset recovery
   7. The freedom of press
   8. Civil society partnerships
4. References

Authors

Caitlin Maslen

Reviewers

Adam Foldes and Jamie Bergin (TI)

Rosa Loureiro-Revilla (U4)

Date

29/05/2024

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