Tristan

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Government Transparency: Corruption at Its Finest
Tristan McElrea
Independent Study Unit- Issue Based
Global Perspectives
Mr. Babcock
Friday, May 10th 2019

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Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen's faith in democracy,

diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity; already-tight national budgets, crowding out
important national investments. It wastes the talent of entire generations. It scares away
investments and jobs.
-Joe Biden
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Table of Contents
Preface 4
Summary of Research Methods 5
Definition 6
Background 10
Expert 15
Role of Control 20
International Organizations 23
Case Studies 27
Case Study 1 - Algeria 27
Case Study 2 - Republic of Cuba 34
Case Study 3 - Vietnam 39
Canadian Connection 45
Logic of Evil 53
Religion 56
Solutions 59
Appendix 62
Bibliography 69
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Preface
At the heart of corruption lies the incentive scheme: the opportunity, motive, and expected
outcomes are aligned. If officials have limited accountability, they can easily mask their actions
or form networks of complicit facilitation, then corruption will blossom.
When thinking of Government, what often comes to mind is a strong pillar of society that
maintains strength within a nation, and is the face of its international dealings. In order for a
government to be effective, there must be trust among the people and the institution or it is
vulnerable. Political corruption has an ‘’every man for himself’’ mentality, the consequences are
not theirs. Governments that have unclear policies end up not only hurting the people but
deterring possible investors. Countries with weaker judicial systems often fall prey to corruption,
but developed countries are far from being innocent. Government officials working in their best
interests, and not of the municipality, province, territory, state or country cause misrepresentation
of the citizens’ needs, causing a lack of action on important issues.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the fundamental right
of freedom of expression encompasses the freedom “to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. Ninety-Three countries have an active
Freedom of Information Act, and one hundred and sixty-one countries have committed to the UN
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), all varying degrees of transparency.
Transparency should be in all branches of government. No transparency means little

accountability, and that is dangerous. People’s ignorance means ineffective public oversight, and
the cycle of corruption continues. If everyone has the right to access the documents and
proceedings of the government, they can stay informed and hold their government accountable,
with public opinion, consultation and evaluations of institutions.
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Summary of Research Methods
The internet played a substantial role in the collection of large sums of data, enabling
acquirement of diverse sources from all over the world. The issue presented in this paper is the
result of the exploration of various scholarly reports, websites, documentaries, books, as well as
data from international organizations who monitor countries struggling with transparency by
providing recent reports, and globals indexes, indicating the varying levels of corruption. It was
necessary to utilize international organizations, to access global indexes on corruption, and
compare them in order to determine the accuracy of the data given. In addition, interviewing an
expert was done through technological communications, such as email. Research using current
information was quintessential in preserving the validity of this report.
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Definition
Communist regimes were likely the last regimes where one could largely trust the information
from the archives, as Communists were saving all their documentation to be able one day to
write a grand, universal history of Communism1. They predicted entering the court of history, as
judges and witnesses with everyone on their side. Democratic governments are less interested in
the court of history, but instead in the court of law, perfectly creating memos and documents that
help the institution survive day after day when litigation issues arise. As the push for
transparency continues in this post-ideological age, civil servants are increasingly conscientious
of the influence of new technologies, public accessible government data and more activism to
hold representatives responsible. When government information is open to everyone, the efficacy
of the information is diminished, and its use changes. Manipulation of the public is its new
purpose, the documents are available, but lack explicitness (unnecessarily voluminous), therefore
citizens are not armed with the ‘’right’’ data, and are not informed enough to draw accurate
conclusions. The information open to the public is different than the information shared within
the government, keeping in mind the exposure of authentic government data could also mean
exposure of sensitive government sources. At the same time, clarity in public government data is
essential for society to monitor those in power (refer to Figure A1).
Information technologies are crucial for faster accountability. Several countries have
open government portals with full datasets, not just simple statistics. A type of transparency is
information disclosure, meaning the internal operations and political accountability including
elected representatives, political parties, voters and media. This also takes into account the
efficiency of communication and data sharing between government branches. Open data and
information are easily accessible data, produced by the government. Information disclosure and
open data vary on different levels of transparency, there is more difficulty measuring internal
government affairs (procedural/operational aspects) than events because of the scrutinization and
treatment of data by information brokers before disclosure of operations. Alone high-level policy
1
"Does more Transparency mean more Trust? | Open Government ...."
https://www.opengovpartnership.org/trust/does-more-transparency-mean-more-trust. Accessed 26 Feb. 2019.
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directives, governmental requirements and national legislation guaranteeing access to

information do not ensure public entities disclosing all relevant data.2 This causes “missing
users’’, meaning citizens unwilling to maneuver through information and attempt to analyze, or
they do not possess the skills to separate the irrelevant from the important data.
2
"Open Government Portals Assessment: A Transparency for ... - HAL-Inria." 16 Mar. 2017,
https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01490923/document. Accessed 27 Feb. 2019.
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Significance
When the government makes decisions in secret, opportunities for corruption increases
and accountability to the people decreases3. In Transparency International’s latest index (refer to
Figure A2), more than two-thirds of countries score below 50 (six billion people live in corrupt
countries). If a fish rots from the head down, the same rules can be applied to government. How
can we expect citizens of a country to be honest and abide by the law when their leaders are
demonstrating corruption at the highest level? This is often the case in developing countries,
where funds do not trickle down to the people, and poverty is constant. Corrupt public officials
take advantage of services that they are not entitled to, or even steal funds outright. Government
openness should be a priority because when official meetings are open to citizens and the press,
when government finances are open to public scrutiny, and when laws and the procedures for
making them are open to discussion, the actions of government enjoy greater legitimacy4.
Nine out of ten journalists are killed in corrupt countries, scoring beneath 45 on the index
during the year of 2012 according to TI. Some developing countries are so riddled with
corruption that they try to control the narrative, therefore the press, and if private owned papers
are being shut down because of their opposition towards the government, their freedom is being
infringed upon and breaking article 10 of The International Declaration of Human Rights. Those
who publicly oppose the government are endangered. If the news is controlled by the
government, then they can select what is beneficial for their image, and ignore truths revealing
inconsistencies in the government and corruption passes undetected, unpunished. This not only
limits the knowledge of the citizens, but also the rest of the world, that does not get an accurate
order of events, and can be unaware of arising conflicts for quite some time before light is shed
on the situation.
3
"HACK, MASH, & PEER - Columbia Science and Technology Law ...." 11 Dec. 2003,
http://stlr.org/download/volumes/volume9/brito.pdf. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
4
" HACK, MASH, & PEER - Columbia Science and Technology Law ...." 11 Dec. 2003,
http://stlr.org/download/volumes/volume9/brito.pdf. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.
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Open government data is multiuse and allows individuals and organizations to complete
their tasks by accessing a broad range of data. In terms of transparency, projects such as the
Finnish ‘’tax tree’’ and the British ‘’where does my money go’’ have been created to monitor
how governments spend taxpayer money. And there’s the example of how open data saved
Canada $3.2 billion in charity tax fraud5. Estimations have been made by several studies
indicating the economic value of open data is at several tens of billions of dollars in the EU
alone.
Next, ‘’open-washing’’ is a term used to describe when information released by the

government about contracts is not detailed enough, therefore preventing the public of
understanding the full picture. It is another way to deceive government activity. In countries such
as Nigeria and Venezuela elections are manipulated, and power is seized, regardless of the will
of the people. When this occurs citizens lose faith in the government, and no longer respect the
political system, and don’t feel the need to contribute or participate in elections or anything
associated with the government because they know that their voices will not be heard.
Participatory communities decrease, and division is created. Corruption corrodes the fabric of
society. It undermines people’s trust in political and economic systems, institutions and leaders.
It can cost people their freedom, health, money – and sometimes their lives6. Both major
industrial countries and developing countries plagued with corruption scandals can crumble.
5
"Why Open Data? - The Open Data Handbook." http://opendatahandbook.org/guide/en/why-open-data/.
Accessed 2 Mar. 2019.
6
"Transparency International - What is Corruption?." https://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption.
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Background
After World War I, in the post-war negotiations, the lack of transparency within governments
started to be recognized. There was a wanting for implementation of accountability, integrity,
and transparency in all countries after the horrors that the war had enthralled upon the world.
Change does not happen all at once, gradually countries were adopting freedom of information
laws. In the mid-1980s, only 11 nations had freedom of information laws, but by the end of
2004, 59 nations did 7. In 2016, 112 countries had enacted such laws that allow the general
public access to data held by their respective government8 . The overall rise in global interest in
transparency has been a part of the focus on corruption as an international economic issue
starting mainly in the 1990s.
The end of the Cold War, also had a large impact on political and economic
transformations with the integration of capitalism, resulting in spreading democratization. It is
arguable that globalization has and still is the main driver of change. Globalization— through the
increasing interpenetration of markets, the interdependence of sovereign states, and the fostering
of civil society at the global level—is bringing home the reality of the notion, the global
community9. Building on new ideas was attainable because of globalization, allowing the public
to demand higher standards of transparency. More governments were acknowledging that no
country was completely isolated, and could not stay untouched.
From the late 1980s into the 90s, corruption was no longer a secret, or a revered subject
to discuss because of the harmful consequences of it taking place in countries such as China,
Brazil, and the Philippines, which opened the door to public debates. The Chinese economic
reforms of the 1980s (socialism with Chinese characteristics) had led to a budding market
7
"Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E ... - ScienceDirect.com."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740624X10000201. Accessed 2 Mar. 2019.
8
"• Chart: More Countries Adopt Freedom of Information Laws | Statista." 9 Nov. 2017,
https://www.statista.com/chart/11757/more-countries-adopt-freedom-of-information-laws/. Accessed 8 May. 2019.
9
" Integrity, Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration."
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan020955.pdf. Accessed 2 Mar.
2019.
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economy that benefited some and seriously hurt others. The one-party political system
(Communist Party) was facing legitimacy problems. Common worries were inflation,
unpreparedness of graduates in the new economy and restrictions on political participation.
Students were asking for more of a democracy, therefore accountability, freedom of the press
and freedom of speech. About 1 million people went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to protest
(refer to Figure A3), something the students did for weeks, but were forcibly suppressed, with
more than 10 000 people killed according to BBC, after Chinese Premier Lipeng declared martial
law. There was unrest in the international community, human rights organizations condemning
the Chinese government as well as political analysts. The Chinese government expelled all
foreign reporters from the country and took to censoring the media. The protests also set limits
on political expression in China and is still a widely censored political topic in mainland China.
Many refer to the 1980s as ‘’the lost decade’’ in Brazil and a time of political instability
with the end of the military regime and the step back towards democracy. Corruption was very
present and union leaders such as the future three-time presidential candidate and president Luís
Inácio da Silva was arrested for violating national security laws for personal gain. Also, the
International Monetary Fund implemented an austerity program in Brazil that lowered wages to
fight inflation. Brazil’s economic and social problems were due to political liberalization, and the
declining world economy. Between 1978 and 1980, strikes took place in the industrial ring
around Sao Paulo protesting that the wage increase indexed to the inflation rate was way under
an acceptable standard of living. As the economy sunk in 1983, the GDP declined by 5%,
catalyzed by inflation and failure of political leadership.
Brazil was dealing with a crisis because they had a lack of leadership, permitting
corruption within the government, and therefore enabling an acceleration of decline. In all major
cities in Brazil, millions of Brazilians took to the streets (refer to Figure A4), calling for a direct
vote to choose the next president, but in April 1984, Congress failed to achieve the necessary
numbers and the choice was left with an electoral college. President Fernando Collor de Mello,
elected in December 1989 on a platform of economic growth and modernization, was implicated
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in mid-1992 in an influence-peddling corruption scandal, deeply dividing the republic10. He was

accused of taking a $1m bribe from the embattled state-controlled oil company, Petrobas. He
resigned in 1992 in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate for
bribery and misappropriation. While most people of Brazil were living in poverty, the president
was taking bribes instead of fulfilling his governmental duties.
Ferdinand Marcos, Philippine lawyer and politician who, as head of state from 1966 to
1986, established an authoritarian regime in the Philippines that came under criticism for
corruption and for its suppression of democratic processes11. I mposing martial law enabled
Marcos to shut down Congress, newspapers, jailed his major political opponents and assumed
dictatorial powers. Marcos’ crony group was heavily subsidized, and seriously depleting national
treasury as major segments of the economy were gradually brought under their control. The
Philippines’ economic and political position deteriorated between the late 1970s and early 1980s,
and opposition of the of the Marcos government grew. Marcos would not relinquish any power
and ensured his presidency by jailing Senator Benigno Aquino, under martial law, and his main
opponent and likely predecessor.
In November 1985, Marcos announced a presidential election for February 7th, 1986, one
year before the expiration of his presidential term, believing that he was in control of the political
situation. Corazon Aquino, Benigno Aquino’s wife became the leader of the opposition,
supported primarily of the Catholic hierarchy, business elite, and faction of the armed forces.
Despite the widespread fraud by Marcos’ supporters in the election, Aquino garnered a majority
of votes with millions of rural working class and middle class citizens that expanded her
campaign into the People’s Power movement. Regardless of her majority, the Marcos-dominated
National Assembly declared Marcos the winner. In this case, it was not just the Marcos
10
"Clientelism
and Corruption in Contemporary Brazil - Springer Link."
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-24588-8_10. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.
11
"Ferdinand Marcos | Biography & Facts ...." https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-E-Marcos.
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government that was corrupt, but also his supporters, following his example and contributing to a
fraudulent election.
China, Brazil, and the Philippines have played significant roles in highlighting the
importance of government openness to the world by demonstrating the effects of a closed
government. Therefore, alerting the world of the importance of this issue.
This spurred a wanting for fairness in international trade, and the international
community began to set regional and international standards, centered on prohibiting bribery of
foreign public officials. These standards were introduced with anti-corruption conventions
including the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Convention Against
Corruption in 1996 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
convention against Bribery in 1997, to reduce corruption in the Americas. These efforts were not
effective due to culture and information problems. The measures taken by internal organizations
or tied to economic aid, or internally driven from within a certain government were not
sufficient. Central America has been negatively impacted specifically by misapprehensions about
cultural norms, lack of education about transparency activities, and failures to create equal access
to information12. Internal resistance to transparency initiatives is not unusual considering public
servants’ navigation between adhering to their public office obligations and their personal
interests. The government, private sector, and civil society all face obstacles at international,
national and subnational divisions.
Ultimately, without a change in power and political will, externally imposed transparency
codes and standards will forever be chasing an elusive target13. The culture in a country affects a
government’s stance on openness and how much effort they are willing to put in to achieve more
transparency. It depends on the structure of the government, amount of political action,
12
13
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participation of citizens, acceptance of legal change, and the emphasis placed on the issue
explaining that corruption is unacceptable, operates outside the line of the law.
Corruption in government, local, national, judiciary, executive, legislative or even in the

military is not only a major cause and result of poverty around the world but is also prominent in
the richest nations. Corruption creates or is a consequence of closed government, that
undermines political development, democracy, economic development, etc. The lack of
government transparency is a world issue because there are global repercussions that touch and
manifest in other aspects of life. For example, its influence is powerful and poses a huge strain
on international relations. Firms from rich countries bribing rulers and officials from developing
countries to gain export contracts, particularly in the arms trade and in construction14. US$80
billion is estimated to be the amount of these bribes per year, roughly the amount that the UN
believes needed to eradicate global poverty.
14
"Corruption — Global Issues." 29 Jan. 2006, http://www.globalissues.org/article/590/corruption.
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Expert
A.J. Brown is a successful Australian academic, widely known for his research in public
policy administration, accountability and constitutional and administrative law. Brown has
greatly influenced and impacted the design of public integrity systems and whistleblowing law
reform with his research, around Australia and internationally (refer to Figure A5).
Brown’s degrees consist of a BA (Bachelor of Arts), GDipLegalPrac (Graduate Diploma

Of Legal Practice), LLB (Bachelor Of Laws) and a PhD. Dr. Brown is the program director of
Griffith University’s new graduate certificate in integrity and anti-corruption. He is furthermore
a member of the Board of Directors of Transparency International Australia since 2010, Fellow
of the Australian Academy of Law and in October 2017 he was elected to the global board of the
world anti-corruption organization. He was a delegate to Australia’s 2020 Summit and a member
of the Commonwealth Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Local Government. He
was the 2017-18 President of the Australian Political Studies Association, a Fellow of the
Australian Academy of Law, member of the Commonwealth Government’s Expert Advisory
Panel on Whistleblower Protection, and project leader of Australia’s second national integrity
system assessment15.
With over 25 years of experience in the field of public integrity and anti-corruption,
whistleblowing, federalism, regionalism and development of public institutions, Dr. Brown has
been working as a professor of Public Policy and Law at Griffith University since 2013, worked
as a professor of Public Law at Griffith University from 2009–2012, ministerial policy advisor
for the Queensland government from 1998-1999, associate to Justice G E 'Tony' Fitzgerald AC,
Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland during the year 1998 and served as a Senior
Investigation Officer, Commonwealth Ombudsman from 1993-1997.
"A.J. Brown | ANU College of Law." https://law.anu.edu.au/alumni/alumni-profiles/aj-brown. Accessed

15
8 Mar. 2019.
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When asked by this writer if a government should be completely open or have a degree of
confidentiality, Dr. Brown stated,
‘’The latter; all institutions can only function with some degree of appropriate
confidentiality with respect to their internal operations and professional relationships
between the people who make them up, as well as control over the timing of the release
of some information to others, so that quality decision making can occur and quality
decisions be implemented in a quality way. Everything should be transparent in the end,
or eventually, or when it needs to be, but often it is a question of 'who
needs to know'...'when' and 'why'... whereas 100% transparency all the time on
everything is neither possible nor desirable
in practice’’.
In addition, Dr. Brown spoke about the implementation of a national integrity system at the fifth
session of the 2018 Symposium, held by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA)
and stated,
“We live in a global context, in addition to my day job at Griffith, I have the privilege,
sometimes the burden of being on the board of Transparency International Australia, not
just here in Australia, but globally. So [I] certainly get to see the people in our movement
who are fighting corruption, not just here in Australia but in Rwanda, in Cambodia, in the
places where the Trump message has licensed the people who once upon a time did not
even bother paying lip service to democracy at all, create regimes with whether the
vestiges of democracy or accountability are of the thinnest and effectively most
non-existent kind that are possibly imaginable. So we are in that context, and we have
this challenge now to assess integrity systems in isolation from those issues, those
political issues, those democratic issues. From Transparency International’s history,
starting out in the 1990s when everybody was a bit more optimistic; the idea that a
democratic framework, a liberal democratic framework, and a solid national integrity
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system were really interchangeable concepts was very much in vogue now. Now we can
look at it, and say that this concept of a national integrity system that Transparency
International has sort of inherited and developed, really brings those questions right to the
fore, you can just look at this concept, and say well this is what we are up against in
many ways, not what is actually helping us is this particular institualization, or in some
cases, pseudo institutionalization of particular functions and powers. That raises good
questions for us in terms of what it is about our system that we really need to
fundamentally rethink politically, in order to define and achieve what we really mean by
integrity, so we can come back to questions about the fundamentals, and the
conceptualization of a national integrity system expressed in those sorts of terms. One
thing that is quite clear from what happens in practice internationally, and in
Transparency International when we are really getting down to the brass tracks of
assessing what is going on and what is not working, and what are the reform
opportunities for any political system when it comes to combating corruption, trying to
promote integrity, is that it has often got less to do with democracy per se as
accountability, and accountability comes in many forms, and accountability has predated
democracy. Now maybe we will see the birth of a new and different form of
accountability. I do not think [that] we are seeing the death of democracy personally,
because I do not think [that] we have ever really gotten close to democracy in the way
that we should. So without delving massively into the theory, I think when you think
about the concepts of what we are trying to achieve in the institutionalization of any
system that is designed to pursue, to fight corruption or control it or contain it. Then we
have some really interesting tensions going on, in which all our disciplines are very much
engaged, being in the presence of at least one Braithwaite. I cannot help but emphasize
that when we talk about these institutions and this push-me, pull-me between corruption,
integrity, between trying to promote the values we are trying to achieve, and combat the
behaviour that we do not want, there is an incredibly healthy tension. The whole concept
of enculturation of institutionalizing distrust, in order to enculturate trust. To channel a
famous Braithwaite vol, is to build into our ideas of what accountability is, and how we
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achieve it, but for the purposes of conceptualization of any system that is designed to
pursue integrity or combat corruption. We are not just talking about accountability, nor
are we just talking about corruption. If it was just about corruption and fighting
corruption, I would be as skeptical as anybody else, but it is not, it is about the full
spectrum, and to start to get back to practicalities, which is where we are going to end up.
We live in systems especially in Australia where we have innovated with all of these
systems. We live in systems where we have constructed institutions and framework
quickly to create horizontal and divided and mutual accountability in all sorts of ways,
that develop traditional separations of powers, ideas in order specifically to constrain
power, to mold power in ways that are intended to pursue or maximize the chances of
integrity, however to define and to combat corruption.We have these institutions, we
have a real system, we may not have all invented it the way we wanted it, but we are
working with it to try and figure out where it should go, in very much of the context that
stands painted. Notwithstanding all that media about corruption in local government,
people do say well at least we know how it works and how to get things done, hence local
government retains this sort of advantage; how we maximize that, is probably you know
one of the more critical questions for us. I think one of the other things that is significant
about that, is that trust does go up. If you look internationally at the research, trust does
revert and trust does repair. It would be good if we make sure that we contain corruption,
and get rid of it as well, but how we can rebuild trust is very much at the core of the
exercise. We also know the relationship between different elements of trust, and there has
not been much unpacking of that, but if we want to start unpacking it, maybe we can talk
about probity, we can talk about performance, we can talk about process. All these things
feed into conceptions of public trust and, we now know from this type of research [that]
this is what makes me a political scientist, not just a public policy person. We know that
the calculations of performance as a basis for trust vary about twenty to thirty percent of
the variance in that is explained by the concerns about probity about corruption, and that
they are very much on the rise. One of the things that makes me not depressed or
optimistic all the time about working from an Australian base with compulsory voting,
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and all the other things that make us stronger, is the common sense of people.This
assessment is not just about corruption or at least all the well institutionalized national
society, and wide processes that are already built in, in one way or another,
fundamentally into in which we believe should be built into integrity and accountability. I
think everybody has been given access. We can either take an existing messy system and
just try and make it work better which is sort of option one, and not deal with the big gaps
and the strategic issues. We can take a siloed approach and I think that for all of us this is
really the critical issue. We can just focus on corruption, establish an anti-corruption
body. We can make it really siloed and have one institution and somehow pray that it is
going to do everything and solve all our problems. It is not going to happen, and we
could rely on an overwhelming discipline and one line of knowledge, which is law now,
or we can do what we have, and backed out of the options paper, which is to try and take
a more system-wide approach”.
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Role of Control
In politics, control means powers, how to get power and how to keep it. Politicians need
control in order for their ideas to be accepted permitting them to implement their policies. The
government, the media, and the citizens hold a certain amount of control. In a perfect democratic
nation, the citizens would have the power and the government would represent the interests of
the people, and the media would accurately depict events with the utmost objectivity possible.
The need to win an election can be a source of corruption, going to any lengths to secure
control. For instance, Bill Clinton’s campaign for Presidential re-election in 1996 was
controversial because it was unclear how his campaign was being funded and by whom. There
was little data concerning the financing of the Clinton campaign because the Democratic Party
did not adhere to their usual vetting process for donors. The Washington Post stated that illegal
foreign contributions were made to the campaign, but it was hard to hold them accountable
because of the lack of transparency. As a result, Americans were powerless. They should have
cared because if the information about the donors is not accessible or clear, it diminishes
accountability; they cannot hold them accountable for their actions, and it could create a
precedent for other campaigns to accept all donations without regulation, regardless of the donor.
The Government Affairs Committee opened the “Investigation on Illegal or Improper Activities
in Connection with the 1996 Federal Election Campaigns’’. Law enforces rules so that society is
controlled and prevented from falling into chaos, but here the investigation did not have power,
nor did the citizens. The Democratic Party was in control, collecting three times more funding
for the 1996 federal election campaign than for the previous one in 1992, without regulation of
the monetary donations.
The media influences the way the world is shown and has power in the selection of data,
and ultimately the manipulation of perception. It is important to look at more than one news or
media outlet because they will all have a bias whether they are at the right or the left on the
political spectrum.
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The missing of factual information about the Clinton re-election campaign donors,
created an opportunity for the media outlets to spin the story. It was alleged that the intentions of
the Clinton Administration were to sell seats on taxpayer-funded trade missions in exchange for
contributions from the People’s Republic of China to influence domestic policies in the U.S16.
This story was picked up by news outlet after news outlet, but there was no factual
evidence just circumstantial and the intent was said to turn China into the enemy. A common
method used by the media is the manipulation of cognitive ease, to maintain control over the
public. The ideology behind cognitive ease is that‘’if you see something enough times it must be
true’’ (refer to Figure A6). They repeatedly showed this same story so that when citizens are
broached with the topic of the Clinton re-election campaign financial controversy it is easy to say
that China was funding Clinton’s campaign because of how much exposure the media gave the
alleged China story. This is a prime example of how much control the media has over the public,
and how they can withhold information in order for the story to fit their agenda.
Corruption is driven by greed. In all societies, corruption is inevitable, because of human

nature, but greed in government has a more significant impact on the nation, inducing a chain
reaction. In Latin America and in other transitional countries corruption is easier to detect than
that of developed countries because of their shift from command to a free market. Excessive
profits and appropriation of rents and excessive profits were accompanied by a change from a
well-organized system of corruption to a more chaotic one.
Low wages are bound to lead to collecting bribes. For instance, those who have the
power are the officials that deal with allocating resource rights. Tariffs, tax deductions, price
controls and government-controlled provision of credit are all trade restrictions put in place to
reduce overexploitation of resources. For instance, the market price for oil is much higher than
16
"Washingtonpost.com: Campaign Finance Special Report."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/execsumm030698.htm. Accessed 6 Mar.
2019.
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the extraction price, but supply is limited by nature. The officials who allocate extraction rights
are offered bribes to allow the company to continue extraction since abnormal profits are
accessed by those who extract oil. Corruption prospers in secret where there is no accountability.
In addition, a strong government is one that is respected and trusted by the people, but openness
will not only prevent corruption but also expose past failures. There is a resistance against
transparency because once citizens are aware of the government’s true intentions and plans for
the future, the government no longer has the same control over the country, having to share the
control and give back some of the power. This resistance is perhaps the clearest reminder that
even though transparency is often presented as a principle that is ‘overarching,
non-interventionist and straightforward’, its implementation and application are actually
‘anything but’17 and in result weaken its power.
17
"The relationship between transparency, whistleblowing, and public trust." 28 Mar. 2018,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298103056_The_relationship_between_transparency_whistleblowing_and
_public_trust. Accessed 6 Mar. 2019.
McElrea 23
International Organizations
International organizations representing government transparency are crucial for the fight
against corruption. They define transparency with values such as integrity, accountability,
solidarity, courage, justice, and democracy. In order to assess countries’ transparency status they
evaluate publicized laws and government data (availability of government data), the right to
information (responsiveness to request public records the timeline, pertinence, relative cost,
awareness and accessibility), civic participation (ability to gather, protest with others, comment
on government policies), essentially citizen feedback and the complaint mechanisms (ability of
people to make complaints about officials, or services to various government officers). With this
information gathered they formulate research-based reports on each country to determine
possible solutions, plans of action and if intervention is necessary.
These international organizations also put pressure on governments to improve

whistleblower policies, allowing them to come forward, and report insider knowledge of illegal
activities within an organization such as the abuses of government. Whistleblowers directly
provoke the tension between presumptions in favor of maximum transparency and the
presumption that trust is best maintained by those institutions retaining informational control18.
Transparency International (TI) is a leading politically non-partisan, non-profit,

non-governmental organization that is committed to turning the vision of diminution of
corruption around the world into a reality (refer to Figure A7). They define themselves as one
global movement sharing one vision: a world in which government, business, civil society and
the daily lives of people are free of corruption19. TI has a strong global reach, being present in
more than 100 countries.
18
"The relationship between transparency, whistleblowing, and public trust." 28 Mar. 2018,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298103056_The_relationship_between_transparency_whistleblowing_and
_public_trust. Accessed 7 Mar. 2019.
19
"Our Organisation - overview - Transparency International."
https://www.transparency.org/whoweare/organisation. Accessed 7 Mar. 2019.
McElrea 24
In 1995, they were the first organization to create a Corruption Perceptions Index, putting
corruption on the map so that leaders cannot ignore the problem. The index is updated every year
to show accurate changes in corruption around the world, and it gives a visual representation by
ranking countries and territories by their varying levels of corruption.
Creating international anti-corruption conventions, prosecuting corrupt leaders and

seizures of their illicitly gained riches, national elections won and lost on tackling corruption and
holding companies accountable for behaviour at home and abroad are a few of their many
achievements. TI was part of the push behind the creation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
that resulted in the international criminalization of bribing foreign officials. Foreign bribery is
not an abstract phenomenon; it has damaging consequences in the form of contracts not going to
the best qualified suppliers, prices inflated to cover bribe payments, environmental requirements
not enforced and taxes not collected20. In contrast, even with the implementation of OECD there
are still 18 parties with little or no enforcement to the convention, and 11 parties with limited
enforcement to the convention.
In addition, TI started opening Transparency International’s Advocacy and Legal Advice

Centres (ALACs) to provide free and confidential legal advice to witnesses and victims of
corruption. The ALACs are a success with over 100 centres in the world, with at least 200 000
citizens who have been in touch with the centres seeking legal advice.
The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is a

non-profit international network of parliamentarians focused solely on combating corruption
(refer to Figure A8). It consists of former and current legislators who represent more than 50
countries, who have been denied their right to take office and their collaboration is non-partisan.
GOPAC’s programming model uses Global Task Forces (GTF) to promote agendas identified by
the membership through a regionally representative group of parliamentarians that champion
20
"Transparency International - Exporting Corruption 2015."
https://www.transparency.org/exporting_corruption. Accessed 7 Mar. 2019.
McElrea 25
each topic21. The GTFs purposes are to introduce legislative change in national parliaments in
search to control corruption, promote good governance and hold the Executive more accountable
to the people. The GTFs specialize in anti-money laundering, the U.N conventions against
corruption, the parliamentary ethics and conduct, and participation of society.
The Anti-Money Laundering Global Task Force (GTF-AML) works with a variety of
anti-money laundering experts from organizations equally invested in preventing corruption and
enhancing transparency such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOCD), Interpol, the Egmont Group and
Transparency International. GOPAC’s justification is that establishing connections with
international organizations is key to utilizing all resources and accessing a wealth of information
for generating more plans of action.
The United Nations Convention Against Corruption Global Task Force (GTF-UNCAC)
works on implementing the UNCAC to address legislative gaps and they pay special attention to
the criminalization of corruption through the independent judiciary systems. There is also the
domestication aspect where the parliamentarians help implement the UNAC by adopting
international standards to regional and national needs. Also, the Parliamentary Ethics and
Conduct Global Task Force (GTF-PEC) responsibility is preventing public corruption by
overseeing the administrative branch of government. GOPAC is a firm believer that individuals
that can be impacted by a decision should have a say in what that decision may be. The
mechanisms used to augment public participation are elections, political parties, media, and civil
society organizations. It helps different parliamentary systems develop suitable legislation to
promote transparency, access to information, and protection of civil rights for those who take a
stand against corruption22.
21
"Overview | GOPAC - Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against ...."
http://gopacnetwork.org/overview/. Accessed 7 Mar. 2019.
22
"Participation of Society | GOPAC." http://gopacnetwork.org/programs/participation-of-society/.
McElrea 26
These international organizations provide ways to monitor countries and raise awareness
and contribute to combating corruption that abuses power for private gain which undermines
good governments, ethical businesses and society at large.
McElrea 27
Case Studies
An increase of governments’ roles in national economies post WWII , allowed growth of

international trade, business payments, as well as payment commissions also known as bribes.
Case Study 1 - Algeria
Algerian culture and society were profoundly affected by 130 years of colonial rule, by
the bitter independence struggle, and by the subsequent broad mobilization policies of post
independence regimes23. Complete social disintegration has been prevented by deep religious
faith and a populist ideology. There has been a contradiction, however, between the
government’s various populist policies—which have called for the radical modernization of
society as well as the cultivation of the country’s Arab Islamic heritage—and traditional family
structure24. Algerians have conflicting sentiments concerning the future of their nation; caught
between a tradition that does not command complete loyalty, and modernism that fails to
appease their spiritual and psychological needs. This uncertainty creates a divide between its
citizens, and leaves Algeria vulnerable to competing ideologies, as well as the Bouteflika
government that preys on their confusion, and exploits the division within the country.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, resigned afterr resisting weeks of protests,

established himself by ending a ruinous civil war but came undone over corruption and economic
stagnation25. Algeria is hardly democratic, considering its corrupt and opaque system of
government promoting instability. It opened its political system in 1989, but Islamists won the
first round of parliamentary polls in 1991 and the army cancelled the rest of the election26. Since
23
"Algeria - Cultural life | Britannica.com." https://www.britannica.com/place/Algeria/Cultural-life.
24
"Algeria - Cultural life | Britannica.com." https://www.britannica.com/place/Algeria/Cultural-life.
25
"Algeria's Bouteflika-From Revolutionary to Ailing Recluse - The New ...." 1 Apr. 2019,
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2019/04/01/world/europe/01reuters-algeria-politics-bouteflika-newsmaker.html.
Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
26
"How to revive Algeria - Out with the old - The Economist." 7 Mar. 2019,
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/03/09/how-to-revive-algeria. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 28
then elections have not been free or fair. Bouteflika won his last election in April 2014, with
82% of the vote, even though he hardly campaigned27 because of various health problems. The
decision by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika [sought] to seek a fifth consecutive term in elections
scheduled for April 2019, despite his poor health, sparked the largest political protests in Algeria
in over two decades28. Bouteflika’s rule has raised distrust among Algerians, comprehending
that political freedoms and openness are limited to those few in privileged positions. Bouteflika’s
determination to cling to power has spread resentment among Algerians, causing them not to
vote, but instead protest his breaking of the two term limit in the constitution, resulting in
Bouteflika’s resignation on April 2nd 2019, with nearly
Algeria is 105th in TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index and has a score of 35/100 for the
perceived level of public sector corruption. Corruption roots back to the beginning of Algeria’s
independence from France in 1962. The “revolutionary regime” promised governance “by the
people and for the people”, but the needs of Algerians were not respected, nor did the citizens
have a say in the decisions being made for them. Corruption is a daily struggle for Algerians,
present in all aspects of Algerian life, and is widespread across the government. For companies
operating or intending to invest in Algeria, corruption is a serious problem. A culture of
patronage permeates several aspects of Algeria’s economy, strengthening the practices of
nepotism and the use of connections to “get things done”29. Facilitation payments, as well as
bribery are criminal offences that serve as common practices, and are especially used to
overcome bureaucratic hurdles. The legal framework criminalizes a large range of corruption
offenses, but enforcement remains a challenge and government officials engage in corruption
with impunity30.
27
"How to revive Algeria - Out with the old - The Economist." 7 Mar. 2019,
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/03/09/how-to-revive-algeria. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
28
"Political and Economic Instability in Algeria." 7 Mar. 2019,
https://www.cfr.org/report/political-instability-algeria. Accessed 9 May. 2019.
29
"Algeria Country Profile - Business Anti-Corruption Portal."
https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/algeria/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2019.
30
"Algeria Country Profile - Business Anti-Corruption Portal."
McElrea 29
There is a high risk of corruption within the judicial system for companies operating in
Algeria. Courts are influenced politically, and as a result are subject to interference and influence
from members of the executive branch, powerful individuals and companies. Firms do not
respect the courts, perceiving the courts to be ineffective in the settlement of disputes or in
challenging government regulations. Algerians perceive the judiciary system to be the most
corrupt public institution, with almost three-quarters of surveyed households sharing this opinion
31
. Despite Algeria being a signatory of the New York Convention in 1958 and the International
Centre for Settlement of International Disputes, foreign judgements are not recognized by the
courts. The survey [World Economic Forum Survey on global competitiveness] ranks Algeria
123 out of 144 countries on judicial independence, placing it behind all other countries in the
Middle East and North Africa, except Lebanon32.
Corruption in law enforcement is moderate, and impunity is a serious problem across the
nation. The authorities do not disclose information concerning actions taken against police abuse,
leaving the public unable to question the integrity of their local authorities because they are
unaware of the situation, or when abuse of power is reported, the citizens are immediately
silenced, and the offenders remain unpunished.
There is a high risk of corruption for companies dealing with Algeria’s land authorities.
Property rights are recognized and protected by law, but the effective protection of property
rights is limited by lengthy court proceedings, the unpredictability of outcomes, political
influence, and corruption33. The government limits the ability of foreigners to purchase land,
consequently foreign companies pay massive bribes to political figures and high ranking
bureaucrats in order to secure contracts.
31
"Global Corruption Barometer -- 2013 - Transparency International."
https://www.transparency.org/gcb2013. Accessed 31 Mar. 2019.
32
" The PRIce of STAbILITy In ALgeRIA - Carnegie Endowment for ...." 2 Apr. 2013,
https://carnegieendowment.org/files/price_stability_algeria.pdf. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
33
"Algeria Corruption Report - Business Anti-Corruption Portal."
McElrea 30
The government is ineffective in implementing anti-corruption laws. The Algerian Penal

Code and Anti-Corruption Law criminalizes passive and active bribery, facilitation payments,
illicit enrichment, abuse of power, kickbacks, and influence peddling34. Disclosure laws require
government officials to declare their assets within a month upon office if they gain substantial
wealth and before leaving their positions. The intent of these laws are of catching officials
exploiting government funds, therefore promoting transparency. However, these regulations are
poorly enforced, and as a result very few officials comply. Algeria suffers from “grand
corruption,” in which leaders at high levels of government, such as high-ranking public officials
and top management of state-owned enterprises, abuse their power to benefit themselves at the
public’s expense35.
For instance, the country’s security services and the senior officials in the Ministry of
Public Works participate in corruption, and the result is overexploitation of infrastructure
projects. The construction of the East-West highway’s total cost bloated from a projected $6
billion to $17 billion. [A]n Algerian court sentenced fourteen people to prison for corruption on
the construction project in 2015, charging them with money laundering and embezzlement of
public funds36. The money from the government rarely goes untouched, and the East-West
highway scandal is no exception. Before the money provided for a project is used for that
purpose, people who have access to it, which includes government employees and foreign firms
embezzle money, abuse their power and create more corruption on top of an already corrupt
system. It [Algeria] also faces “petty corruption,” or everyday abuse of power, by low- and
mid-level bureaucrats among both the central administration and local authorities37.
34
35
" The PRIce of STAbILITy In ALgeRIA - Carnegie Endowment for ...." 2 Apr. 2013,
36
"Fighting Corruption in Algeria: Turning Words into Action - The ...." 12 Dec. 2018,
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/fighting-corruption-in-algeria-turning-words-into-action.
37
"The PRIce of STAbILITy In ALgeRIA - Carnegie Endowment for ...." 2 Apr. 2013,
McElrea 31
In addition, under Algeria’s Constitution, freedoms of speech and press are protected, but
these freedoms are not upheld or protected in practice. Criminal and civil charges hinder
journalists from engaging in critical reporting on government actions, and the government
sometimes restricts foreign reporting by rejecting or severely delaying visas for foreign
journalists38. The information that the government provides is unreliable and manipulates the
truth, also preventing foreign journalists from entering the country thwarts efforts to raise
awareness. There is no freedom of information law in Algeria, and the media environment is not
free. The government censors the internet by retaining the right to block websites deemed
‘’contrary to public order or decency’’, and controls most printing presses and advertising.
Algeria has a violent history concerning journalism. In January 1992, the military
backed-regime that came to power silenced the press by any means necessary, and restricted
freedom of expression and movement. In the 1990s, a number of newspapers were shut down,
journalists were jailed and some disappeared, while others were openly assassinated39. Both the
Islamists and the government have been accused of being behind some of the murder cases.
Between May 1993 and August 1997 one hundred media workers and journalists have been
murdered. The Information Act, Law No. 90-7 (dated April 3,1990) regarding information
forbids newspapers to publish any stories or information about political violence and security
from any source other than the government40. Therefore, restricting information or publishment,
which precludes any attempt of accountability of the government, enabling corruption to
continue.
On the international scale, Algeria is classified as an upper-middle income nation, with

its economy depending on the exportation of petroleum. Petroleum accounts for a quarter of its
38
39
"Algeria Press, Media, TV, Radio, Newspapers ... - Press Reference."
http://www.pressreference.com/A-Be/Algeria.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2019.
40
"Algeria Press, Media, TV, Radio, Newspapers ... - Press Reference."
http://www.pressreference.com/A-Be/Algeria.html. Accessed 1 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 32
GDP and 95% of export earnings. Now, industrialization is being facilitated by extraction and
production of hydrocarbons. Since the 1980s, there have been modifications to the direction of
Algeria’s socialist government as a result of focus shifting to privatization. The increasingly
pervasive corruption has had significant disruptive effects on its economy; Algeria had
experienced a significant economic upsurge after 1999 due to rising oil prices, but prices have
declined since 201441. Consequently, corruption within the energy and oil sector has increased
with the loss of revenue from big oil companies, impacting the Algerian workers, and lowering
their salaries. For example, a state-owned company called Sonatrach which explores the
hydrocarbon resources of the country, covering all aspects of production including exploration,
extraction, transport, and refining is a major supplier of Europe, and was charged with corruption
offenses such as embezzling public funds, money laundering to inflate the price of contracts and
accepting bribes. Six people were sentenced to jail including Sonatrach vice-president, Belkacem
Boumediene and former Sonatrach CEO, Mohamed Meziane for awarding gas contracts through
directs agreements instead of bidding procedures. Also, two companies were sanctioned for
corruption connected to contracts with Sonatrach. Once again public funds depleted because of
high risk corruption by state employees. Another Sonatrach scandal emerged in February 2013,
when the head of Eni, a state-owned Italian oil and gas company and the leading foreign energy
operator in Algeria, came under investigation for his alleged involvement in a $265 million
bribery case to win contracts assigned by Sonatrach42. In situations such as these, the only people
who profit are those willing to steal money from the government, ultimately hurting the rest of
the Algerian population, and contributing to the lacking access to social services.
Globalization and exposure to worldwide media have increased their expectations

regarding individual liberties, dignity and social justice43. With Algerians making more efforts
towards accessing foreign media, and installing private media sources, they have a better idea of
41
"Fighting Corruption in Algeria: Turning Words into Action - The ...." 12 Dec. 2018,
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/fighting-corruption-in-algeria-turning-words-into-action.
42
43
McElrea 33
what democracy is, and what rights they should have by comparing themselves to other
countries. It is likely that the weakness of Algeria’s economy will force the regime to adhere to
the demands of its dissatisfied population and enhance awareness of corruption with the goals of
enhancing government transparency. In order for such change to happen, it requires the
implementation of deep economic, political and constitutional reforms on issues limiting
presidential tenure, and increasing that of the prime minister who is elected by parliament,
meaning that the vote is open to all political parties, not just the National Liberation Front,
limiting corruption. Citizens want to hold their government accountable for their actions, and this
includes civilian oversight of military budgets, making sure that the money intended for health
care and education is not taken by the military, and independent sight of oil revenues, restricting
exploitation of profits.
Algeria has already taken steps towards increasing government transparency, including
initiatives such as the ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in 2004,
adoption of the anti-corruption law in 2006 as well as establishing the National Commission for
the Prevention and Fight Against Corruption that same year. Yet, the president did not appoint
the commission’s seven members until 2010, and it has yet to achieve any results44. Despite of
their effort, the majority of these anti-corruption commitments have been substantively empty,
lacking enforcement.
44
McElrea 34
Case Study 2 - Republic of Cuba
Since the establishment of the Republic of Cuba in 1902, Cuba has suffered omnipresent
corruption. The fight against corruption was among the most politically appealing policy
objectives, lending a measure of popularity to the Cuban Revolution. Ironically, however,
the revolutionary experience, in many respects, served to deepen the roots of corruption in the
country45. Cases of corruption are usually not published by pro-government media. The only
information concerning cases of corruption are the ones which are in the government’s political
or strategic interests, which spreads through gossip or on cell phones. Illegal activity and
corruption are at the foundation of the dysfunctional Cuban system. Deception is used against
foreigners and nationals alike. The Castro dictatorship’s political and economical power
provided the worst kind of nepotism, ensuring the continuity of power in the hands of Castro’s
family or entourage, all while controlling the most powerful positions.
Devised to promote a handover of power in the people’s hands, following President Raúl
Castro's announcement that 2018 would be the last year of his administration, the #Otro18
campaign promotes democratic reform of the Electoral Law and the Association Act designed to
avert potential attempts to reimpose Castroist authoritarianism46. Otro18 challenged the
Communist Party of Cuba at higher levels of government by fielding independent candidates in
the 2017 municipal elections. Since the Castro brothers’ domination of government and politics
in Cuba beginning in 1959, no transfer of power between rival groups was allowed. The
authorities ensured that the 2018 elections would again feature no independent candidate for
national office by blocking the dissidents’ using fraudulent and dishonest conduct, which
included unjustified arrests of candidates, intimidation and bribery of high-level officials. For
instance, any candidate representing a different political view conflicting with communism could
be classified as a “criminal”, arrested and forced to forfeit the election. Essentially the Castro
government was working behind the scenes so that regardless if Raùl Castro was no longer
45
"policy framework to address corruption in the cuban transition."
https://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/v09-cas_diaz.pdf. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
46
"The Association Act, according to #Otro18 | Diario de Cuba."
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1452085758_19289.html. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 35
president, the same authoritarian regime would remain in place, supported by communism. This
truth exposes the difficulty for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through
elections.
Recent demands by journalists for a new media law that would grant citizens the right to
information and offer legal protection for the emerging nonstate media sector have made little
headway with the government47. There is an absence for effective laws that provide for freedom
of information and access to official records in Cuba. The state controls and owns the Cuban
news media. Any type of independent press corps is illegal, and its publications are classified as
‘’enemy propaganda’’. A small number of the population has access to global internet, whereas
the majority are confined to the government’s controlled national intranet. Only 39% of the
country’s 11 million inhabitants use the internet48. These media outlet restrictions inflicted on the
public by the government precludes connection to the outside world, therefore limiting exposure
to events, and more specifically knowledge that enables new ideas. Without exposure to new
information conforming to the government is simpler, lesser risk of being critical, and ultimately
silencing any thought of change that could possibly lead to a more accountable and transparent
government.
State monopolized-capitalism is portrayed as ‘’socialism’’ contributing to the lack of

education and use of funds to pay for their workers. The result has been the establishment of a
military dictatorship, the destruction of the country's economy, and the impoverishment of the
vast majority of its citizens, for the deliberate purpose of subjugating them and forcing them to
work for the State and follow the rules of the power imposed, as has recently been demonstrated
in measures aimed at averting “the enrichment of the population”49.
47
"Freedom in the World 2018 - Cuba | Freedom House."
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/cuba. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
48
"Cuba's Five Issues to Watch in 2018 | AS/COA." 11 Jan. 2018,
https://www.as-coa.org/articles/cubas-five-issues-watch-2018. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
49
"The Cuban regime: corrupt and corruptive | Diario de Cuba."
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1506073875_34134.html. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 36
Cuba is a one-party communist state that outlaws political pluralism, suppresses dissent,
and severely restricts freedoms of the press, assembly, speech, and association50. The
government is in control of everything, and Cubans are afraid of questioning the government’s
integrity and addressing its lack of transparency, especially considering the systematic repression
of independent society groups, with activists seeking asylum abroad or facing prosecution.
Without an active political society, the government cannot be held accountable. Efforts towards
improving relations with Washington under the administration of former U.S President Barack
Obama have not significantly affected the regime’s undemocratic nature. Also, abroad, the
Cuban community was exploited by the Castroist state, with high customs fees, red tape,
governing travel and communications.
Furthermore, electoral laws and framework are not implemented impartially by the
relevant election management bodies. Municipal assemblies are the only Cuban elections that
offer a choice of more than one candidate per office, and no campaigning is allowed. Also, the
government used tactics such as disqualification and discrediting of potential opposition
candidates, as well as intimidating voters during the November 2017 municipal elections. Some
candidates were convicted on trumped-up charges in summary trials, or detained to prevent them
from attending nomination meetings51. Exploitation of power is common within the government,
going to any extent to preserve communist ideals, even if it violates the citizens’ political
freedoms, thus preventing public oversight, and maintaining control.
Political parties other than the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) are illegal. Political
dissent is a punishable offense, and dissidents are systematically harassed, detained, physically
assaulted, and frequently imprisoned for minor infractions52. “Acts of repudiation’’, also known
as ‘’spontaneous’’ mob attacks are often used to silence political dissidents. The courts and the
50
51
52
McElrea 37
judiciary’s rulings conform to the interests of the PCC, and the Council of State has complete
control over them. Laws on vaguely defined offenses such as “public disorder,” “contempt,”
“disrespect for authority,” “pre-criminal dangerousness,” and “aggression” are used to prosecute
the regime’s political opponents53. Therefore, there is no separation between the executive and
judiciary branches of government, allowing corruption permeate, and is vulnerable to bribery.
The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), a
nongovernmental organization, reported 5,155 arbitrary arrests of peaceful opponents during
201754. With a total of 51,833 cases documented by the CCDHRN since 2010, politically
motivated arrests have become a key repressive strategy for the government. With the Cuban
government continuously imposing their will on their citizens and violating their freedoms,
transparency is almost seemingly impossible when any attempt to inform or speak out against the
government is a risk.
New changes to the Cuban constitution were implemented on April 10th, 2019. The new
constitution is a component in a broader, gradual process underway in Cuba, introducing
economic, political and social model reforms, to better support the country’s current political
climate. These changes include an increase in entrepreneurship and private sector growth, greater
freedom of travel, more space for political debate, expansion of Internet access [the right to
receive and request truthful and objective information from the state], and a more vibrant artistic
and civil society55, as well as reforms related to the political system. Arguably one of the most
important changes limits the mandate of the president and vice president (who are elected by
Cuba’s National Assembly, as in parliamentary systems) to two consecutive five-year
terms56. This promotes new people taking on roles in government, and preventing positions of
power being restricted to a selected few of individuals, over an extended period of time. The
53
54
55
"Cuba Has a New Constitution. What Happens Next?." 10 Apr. 2019,
https://www.wola.org/analysis/cuba-new-constitution-what-happens-next/. Accessed 9 May. 2019.
56
"Cuba Has a New Constitution. What Happens Next?." 10 Apr. 2019,
https://www.wola.org/analysis/cuba-new-constitution-what-happens-next/. Accessed 9 May. 2019.
McElrea 38
modifications to the constitution include steps toward more freedom of information, and political
reforms, but these new changes need to be properly enforced in order for positive impacts to
occur. With widespread illegality pervading in everyday life, corruption remains a serious
problem. The demobilization of civil society and the residual institutionalism prevailing in Cuba
are the products of reform measures endorsed by the octogenarian elite.
Facing such a dismal corruption history and assuming that the most important priority
should be to create the conditions to ensure a political and economic transition, there are few
grounds to believe that a future post-Castro government will have the capacity—or will—to
clamp down on opportunities for grand corruption57. To counteract and gradually undermine
Cuba’s corruption culture, eventual implementation of legal and financial procedures are
required, in order to prevent, detect and punish corrupt behaviour. International leading
institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American
Development Bank are increasingly concerned with corruption and are taking initiatives to
prevent it. If a post-Castro Cuba qualifies for their programs, the international financial
institutions could assist a future Cuban government develop the proper framework and
institutional infrastructure to closely monitor the process whereby the economy is privatized58.
Transparency procedures would be implemented as a result, entailing clear bidding rules,
assistance with property valuations, preparation for tender documentation, which allows a start
towards making the privatization process transparent. In conclusion, [a] massive public
education effort will be necessary to undo the false perceptions about a market economy that
four decades of government-led indoctrination have created in the Cuban population, while at the
same time instilling among the country’s public servants a culture of service, honesty,
transparency and probity59.
57
58
59
McElrea 39
Case Study 3 - Vietnam
In former Soviet-bloc countries, a high-level of state capture (type of systemic political

corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state’s decision-making processes
to their own advantage60) is present when powerful private actors use insiders to obtain control of
public institutions and assets. In the latest 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by
Transparency International, Vietnam ranked 117th amongst 180 countries and territories,
dropping by 10 places compared to 201761. The politics of Vietnam are defined by a single-party
socialist republic framework, where the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam,
President Nguyen Phu Trong is the Party leader and head of the Politburo, holding the highest
position in the one party system62. In Vietnam’s business environment, corruption continues to
persist and bribery, political interference and facilitation of payments are experienced in all
sectors by companies. Depending on the severity of the corruption case, punitive actions range
from fines to capital punishment.
To commence, Vietnam started opening its economy in 1986 with a political and
economic innovation campaign, and reforms intended to shift the country from a centralized
economy to a “social-oriented market economy” while permitting little to no private ownership
like North Korea (refer to Figure A9). However, Vietnam has been subject to the adverse effects
of extractive elites since the beginning. Collaboration occurs between rent-seekers and those in
power to abuse state policies. They arrange business deals that benefit some individuals and
groups greatly, but cause immeasurable damage to the state budget and disrupt the economy63.
Between 2007 and 2017, Vietnam’s wealth grew by 290%, with Vietnamese millionaires
multiplying as a result of unclear regulations governing property ownership, and conflicts of
60
"State capture - Wikipedia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capture. Accessed 2
Apr. 2019.
61
"Vietnam's Corruption Perception Ranking Declines in 2018 - Vietnam ...." 8 Feb. 2019,
https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnams-corruption-perception-ranking-declines-2018.html/. Accessed 2
Apr. 2019.
62
"Vietnam | History, Population, Map, & Facts | Britannica.com." 7 Feb. 2019,
https://www.britannica.com/place/Vietnam. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.
63
"Vietnam and the fight against corruption - Nikkei Asian Review." 4 Mar. 2019,
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Vietnam-and-the-fight-against-corruption. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 40
interests by public officials, as well as taking advantage of loopholes in the governance system.
Government employees have exceedingly low salaries, which enables them to be bought easily,
continuing the cycle of corruption. A person with less money is more likely to submit to bribery
because of desperation, and it is easier in a closed government, where information is not
accurately shared with the public.
The Vietnamese judiciary system has a high rate of corruption due to restrictions imposed
upon by political influences and a weak legal system, resulting in a lack of transparency.
Favourable judicial decisions tend to be common in exchange for bribes and irregular payments.
Reportedly, one in five businesses chose to avoid the Vietnamese court system due to concerns
about bribery (ICS 2017)64. The legal framework is rated poorly because of the judiciary’s
insufficient independence in relation to settling disputes and challenging regulations. The
judiciary also suffers from a lack of adequately trained judges and arbitrators, nepotism, political
influence, and extremely low wages65. Judicial appointments are five years, and judges have to
be reappointed by the Communist Party, furthering bias, partiality and augmenting chances of
corruption. The judge must conform to whatever is asked of them by the Communist Party in
order to keep their job, and be re-appointed. Also, within the ranks of Vietnamese police
corruption is common, and neither the public, nor companies trust them considering that officers
sometimes act with impunity.
Facilitation payments and “gifts’’ are often used in the public services sector.
Over nine out of ten companies indicate they expect to give “gifts” to officials to “get things
done”, and about one in seven expect the same when acquiring an operating license66. Businesses
even use a third party intermediary when paying for government services, as a mechanism to
hide facilitation payments when bribing a government official. Only one in seven respondents
64
"Vietnam Corruption Report - Business Anti-Corruption Portal." 7 Sep. 2017,
https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/vietnam/. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.
65
66
McElrea 41
believe paying a bribe to gain state employment is not necessary in the Province of Thai Nguyen.
Government officials also pay for promotions, therefore not all officials have gone through the
proper schooling or have had the required number of years of experience. This another example
of corruption, the wanting for power and money. The problems in the public sector are further
reinforced by a lack of willingness to fight corruption, a lack of transparency, and inadequate
mechanisms for accountability67.
Next, the public procurement sector is very closed in the sense that companies with ties to
provincial governments are at an advantage when it comes to obtaining land contracts.
Consequently, private companies are unable to compete with state owned enterprises (SOEs)
because they benefit from political favours and capital, as a result companies end up
subcontracting to (SOEs). The companies that are not able to subcontract to SOEs offer up bribes
to secure contracts. A 2014 report produced by the National Assembly found that over ninety
percent of procurement, engineering, and construction projects were awarded to Chinese
companies68. Wealthy Chinese companies offer large sums of money for contracts, and are not
held accountable for their crimes because of the lack of transparency within the public
procurement sector.
For example, the wave of privatization of large state-owned companies has resulted in
politicians appointing themselves, friends and relatives as executives69. The system is corrupt,
and functions on ties to elites, political figures and bribes. In August 2017, Vice Minister of
Industry and Trade, Ho Ti Kim Thoa was fired after allegations were made that she had been
buying and selling shares of the company where she was the chairman of its directors,
succumbing to bribes. Also, on a World Bank backed project in the Mekong Delta, three
67
Apr. 2019.
68
Apr. 2019.
69
McElrea 42
contractors were blacklisted in 2017 for inflating prices and misrepresenting information in the
bidding process, ultimately engaging in fraudulent activity.
In Addition, the adoption of a Freedom of Information Law (FOI) in 2016 was catalysed
by Vietnam’s international obligations of commitment to human rights, but the FOI Law acts
mainly as a symbol instead, as a result of not facilitating practices of real transparency in the
country. Freedom of speech is enshrined in Vietnam’s constitution, but in practice, the
government restricts the freedom of speech by using broad national security and defamation laws
. The lack of enforcement of the law prevents Vietnamese citizens from accessing government
70
data, therefore making it increasingly difficult to monitor the government and break the cycle of
corruption.
The information ministry controls the press and broadcasting and the Communist Party
keeps a strong hold on media. Vietnam television is state-run, so is the radio, which includes
only English, French and Russian languages. The Communist Party, government bodies and the
military own or control the majority of them. Vietnam’s media environment is one of the strictest
in Asia, limiting journalists to local level corruption and criticism of the state which includes
government leaders, the party are intolerable and questions on ‘’sensitive’’[controversial]
policies are severely restricted. Bloggers and citizen journalists are the only sources of
independent news, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF)71. The police uses intimidation, and
breaks into journalists’ homes who are reporting on sensitive topics in order to silence them.
The Communist Party of Vietnam describes corruption as one of the major dangers
threatening the existence of the Party and the regime because it causes negative consequences in
various fields of social life and wears people’s trust72. In order to completely eradicate corruption

70
https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/vietnam/. Accessed 3 Apr.

2019.
71
"Vietnam profile - Media - BBC News - BBC.com." 20 Nov. 2018,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16567840. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.
72
"Some solutions for anti-corruptions in Vietnam."
http://www.oecdkorea.org/common/attachfile/attachfileDownload.do?attachNo=00001410. Accessed 3 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 43
and prodigality in Vietnam policies, law of state should be done so that all officers, civil servants
in the political system and economic units should be “impossible to corrupt, dare not corrupt and
there is no need to corrupt’’. There should be a transparent environment with a strong legal
system following, that punishes people according to their position and how much damage they
have done. Also, the salary of government workers should increase so that they do not feel the
need to take bribes or participate in corruption in order to lead a comfortable life. All leaders of
government need to be transparent to set an example, and have the lower ranks follow. With less
corruption comes a more open government and less information to hide. Only then will Freedom
of Information Laws be followed.
If ‘governance matters’–to the private sector, to poor and vulnerable populations and to
the viability of democratization efforts–then anti-corruption efforts are essential to improved
development outcomes73. Vietnam has taken steps towards implementing anti-corruption efforts,
but they have not resulted in change, and are forgotten after a couple of years. For example, the
Anti-Corruption Law that was passed in 2005 is widely ignored by the population, but creates a
facade for the government to hide behind, allowing them to say that ‘’measures’’ towards
transparency at the macro-level are being taken.
Additionally, fiscal responsibilities are being transferred to the provincial levels,

increasing decentralization by focusing on micro-levels of corruption by changing distribution of
roles, responsibilities and resources across levels of government over the past decade. However,
this much advertised ‘’grassroots democratisation’’ initiative can be extremely problematic
because of the potential impacts on poverty and bureaucratic politics. Local leaders and
bureaucratic actors do not transfer control to downward positions because the incentives are
weak or non-existent within the structure of governance. Decision-making and resources are
influenced by centralization of political power and sectoral controls. Weak administrative and
fiscal capabilities of poorer provinces are worsened by decentralisation trends, which augment
73
"The 'misery' of implementation: governance, institutions, and anti ...." 7 May. 2007,
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781134224609/chapters/10.4324/9780203029343-15. Accessed 3 Apr.
2019.
McElrea 44
regional and rural-urban struggles. A more proactive role for the centre in redistributing
resources, providing technical support and establishing a facilitative policy framework will be
crucial if decentralisation is to contribute towards improved socioeconomic outcomes in
Vietnam’s poorest regions74. Mechanisms of accountability are significant in reducing
corruption, and existing and future arrangements should be based around the concept of an open
government.
74
"Probing System Limits: Decentralisation and Local Political ...."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23276665.2006.10779312. Accessed 4 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 45
Canadian Connection
Contrary to Algeria, Cuba and Vietnam, Canada is a capitalist country. Private enterprise
and free market, including the laws of supply and demand, largely drive Canada’s economy.
Also, Canada is ranked 9th by TI’s 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index and has a score of 81.
Canada is a first world country, with a highly developed, relatively open government with open
information, open dialogue and open data in comparison. Canada’s style of government is based
on the British system, with the national government run as a parliamentary democracy and a
constitutional monarchy75. Canada also bares a certain resemblance to the United States, which
have their own separate governments with idiosyncratic powers. Endless debates all across the
political spectrum, ranging from far left to far right, and heated arguments between the federal
and provincial levels of government define daily Canadian politics. Also, the Canadian
government’s transparency allows the showing of dissatisfaction, and the freedom to question
and challenge the government.
Canada’s efforts to maintain and improve an open government are fluid; updating
Canada’s National Action Plan, and hosting summits in order to inform the population of the
importance of this issue. Canada’s 2016-2018 National Action Plan made progress by taking
significant steps to ensuring access to more information with the implementation of sixteen out
of twenty-two of the plan’s commitments, as well as advancements with the other six
commitments. Canada’s utilization of the latest technologies is a key element in expanding and
improving open data (refer to Figure A10).
Canada’s current open government initiatives include the 2018-2020 National Action
Plan on Open Government, which has ten new commitments, and incorporates more changes in
order to confront the weaker areas of the last plan with a higher concentration on the
substantially completed commitments, such as access to information enhancement, streamline
requests for personal information, providing and preserving open information, access to culture
75
"Government | The Canada Guide." http://www.thecanadaguide.com/government/. Accessed 4 Apr.
2019.
McElrea 46
and heritage collections, enhancing openness of information on government spending and

procurement, increasing transparency of budgets and other Department of Finance Canada
information and increasing the availability and usability of geospatial data76. From November
2017 to April 2018, the Government of Canada received more than 5, 000 ideas and comments
from Canadians expressing their priorities and expectations for the fourth government plan. The
government conducted an extensive public engagement process, which resulted in the
participation of more than 10, 000 people. This is an example of civic participation
encouragement; giving citizens the tools to be involved in combating corruption, all while using
their ideas, and listening to their concerns in order to establish a plan that acknowledges all
possible future consequences.
Law is an element of social control; when the courts apply the law to the settlement of
disputes, it is a way to enforce this control77. If law or the courts are perceived as arbitrary in
their application then social control may be distorted78.
Laws passed by the Executive, and Legislative branches are interpreted by the judicial
branch which is a series of independent courts (refer to Figure A11). Canada’s judicial system is
made up of the hundreds of judges who assign punishments for breaking the laws of Canada, as
well as ensuring the laws passed by the federal and provincial governments adhere to the rules
and limitations of the Canadian Constitution79. Federal and provincial consist of the two levels of
court in Canada. Provincial courts deal with criminal cases and appeals, while federal courts deal
with cases concerning ‘’national interests’’, such as conflicts between provinces, maritime law,
disputes over federal taxes or citizenship. The courts are required to be impartial and equitable at
all times under a good system of governance in order for the law to be maintained in society.
76
"Canada's 2018-2020 National Action Plan on Open Government ...." 31 Dec. 2018,
https://open.canada.ca/en/content/canadas-2018-2020-national-action-plan-open-government.
77
"JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE, CORRUPTION AND THE RULE OF LAW ...."
https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07152009-154311/unrestricted/donoso.pdf. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.
78
"JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE, CORRUPTION AND THE RULE OF LAW ...."
https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07152009-154311/unrestricted/donoso.pdf. Accessed 24 Apr. 2019.
79
"Judiciary | The Canada Guide." http://www.thecanadaguide.com/government/judiciary/. Accessed 24
Apr. 2019.
McElrea 47
Judicial independence is a significant institution support for the rule of law, preventing hindrance
of political influences, remaining non-partisan.
In Canada, the Executive Branch of government comprises of the Crown (the Head of
State, represented in Canada by the Governor General), the Prime Minister (the Head of
Government) and the Cabinet80. The Prime Minister forms the Cabinet, and appoints Ministers of
State to assist individual Cabinet Ministers. Generally people appointed to the Cabinet are
elected Members of Parliament, but it is customary for the Prime Minister to appoint a minimum
of one Senator to the Cabinet. The Prime Minister can request their resignation or replace them
at any time. The Cabinet directs the executive branch of government, and as a result, is the key
decision-making forum in the Canadian government. It is the effective and functioning part of
the Privy Council, the council of advisers to the Crown, which also includes former Prime
Ministers, former Ministers, and other persons appointed for special reasons81. It is of great
importance that the members of Cabinet are not tainted by corruption, and are law-abiding
because they make decisions for the well-being of Canada. The Cabinet acts as an executive
council, developing policies to govern the country, as well as introducing bills, in order to
transform policies into laws. If there is any sort of personal gain, or political agenda, it could
affect the nation as a whole. Transparency is essential in the executive branch, because they are
the decision makers of Parliament, meaning they implement laws and decide which future steps
Canada is going to take.

However, even with a high standard of government transparency and a very low rate of
corruption, there is still regular debate concerning whether the inner workings of the Canadian
democratic system are working properly and efficiently. For instance, [t]he SNC-Lavalin affair is
an ongoing political dispute in Canada involving allegations of political interference and of
80
"Executive Branch of Government in Canada - Compendium of ...."
https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/Compendium/ParliamentaryFramework/c_d_executivebranchgovernmentcanad
a-e.htm. Accessed 4 May. 2019.
81
"Executive Branch of Government in Canada - Compendium of ...."
https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/Compendium/ParliamentaryFramework/c_d_executivebranchgovernmentcanad
a-e.htm. Accessed 4 May. 2019.
McElrea 48
obstruction of justice by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)82. In government, the judicial
branch, and the executive branch should be separate entities, completely independent of one
another. Furthermore, this is to avoid any political pressure on those who uphold the law, and
ultimately preventing corruption from occurring. In this case, it is questioning the implications of
the Prime Minister’s Office (Executive Branch) in the controversy, by applying pressure to the
Attorney General and Minister of Justice (Judicial Branch) to interfere in the proceedings of
SNC-Lavalin’s case.
This controversy originates from SNC-Lavalin, an engineering, procurement and

construction company, based in Montreal, Quebec, that employs thousands of Quebecers. [The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police accused] the company of paying 47.7 million Canadian dollars
in bribes to officials in Libya to win contracts there, and of defrauding the Libyan government
and its agencies of 129.8 million Canadian dollars83. In addition, the company has a history with
corruption; SNC Lavalin was banned from bidding on contracts for a decade by the World Bank
in 2013, in order to settle a corruption inquiry into its activities in Bangladesh. Also, an
investigation done by the Indian government, indicates that the company paid bribes to build an
hydroelectric dam. Pierre Duhaime, SNC-Lavalin’s former chief executive, pleaded guilty this
month to charges related to tens of millions of dollars in bribes the company paid to secure the
contract to build a hospital complex in Montreal84. Furthermore, SNC-Lavalin bribed a public
official, in order to secure a contract to renovate the Jacques-Cartier bridge in Montreal.
The company could be financially crippled if they are convicted in the Libya case,
because, as a result they would be banned from federal contracts for a decade. Publicly, the
management claims that bribery is in the past, all while privately lobbying politicians at all levels
82
"What you need to know about the SNC-Lavalin affair | CBC News." 13 Feb. 2019,
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-wilson-raybould-attorney-general-snc-lavalin-1.5014271. Accessed 4
May. 2019.
83
"The Strange Story Behind the SNC-Lavalin Affair - The New York Times." 15 Feb. 2019,
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/world/canada/snc-lavalin-justin-trudeau.html. Accessed 4 May. 2019.
84
" The Strange Story Behind the SNC-Lavalin Affair - The New York Times." 15 Feb.
2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/world/canada/snc-lavalin-justin-trudeau.html.
Accessed 4 May. 2019.
McElrea 49
of government. The company was looking for changes to criminal law that would allow it to
dodge a conviction by paying a large fine and proving that it now has clean hands — the United
States and Britain have similar “remediation agreements”85. Last March, the Trudeau
government introduced a ‘’remediation agreement’’, as a change to the Criminal Code, buried in
hundreds of pages of the federal budget bill.The remediation regime became law through Bill
C-74 in June 2018 and would have imposed a fine in exchange for abandoning court proceedings
86
. It allows corporations to skip a conviction and keep bidding on federal projects, which could
protect the company from layoffs and financial troubles.
According to Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief of The Globe and Mail, [the Prime
Minister’s Office] improperly pushed Ms. Wilson-Raybould to get federal prosecutors to drop
the criminal case and use the new settlement system87(Deferred Prosecution Agreement).
Wilson-Raybould, having the dual role of Minister of Justice and Attorney General, could give
prosecutors orders in exceptional cases, and would then have to be made public, but the
prosecution service is supposed to do its work free of the influence of politicians, meaning no
pressure from other branches of government. It comes to question whether the Prime Minister
has tried to overturn Wilson-Raybould’s decision to deny SNC-Lavalin a ‘’remediation
agreement’’ for political gain, considering the upcoming federal election, and that the collapse of
SNC-Lavalin could result in thousands of lost jobs in Quebec. The truth is unclear, not
transparent in the least, because during Wilson-Raybould’s testimony she has said that she has
received ‘’veiled threats’’ from the PMO, whereas Prime Minister Trudeau denies any claims
that she has made. This affair stays controversial with the shuffling of the cabinet, Gerald Butts,
Trudeau’s principal secretary and senior political advisor, resigned from his role on February
18th, resulting in Wilson-Raybould being moved from her position as Minister of Justice and
Attorney General, and reassigned to Veterans Affairs. Later, she resigned from Trudeau’s
85
86
"Charges against SNC-Lavalin explained — and how ... - Global News." 12 Feb. 2019,
https://globalnews.ca/news/4953015/snc-lavalin-explained/. Accessed 4 May. 2019.
87
McElrea 50
cabinet. The Ethics Commissioner of Canada is now tasked with looking into this criminal case
to determine where there was any political involvement from the PMO. The SNC-Lavalin affair
is an example of possible corruption at the highest level of government in Canada. This issue is
being closely watched because there is no accountability, little transparency with an Order in
Council (OIC) from the PMO, restricting Wilson-Raybould from “speaking freely”, and
therefore preventing the truth to be unearthed. To prevent corruption from prospering and
threatening democracy, the judiciary and executive branches of government must be independent
and devoid from one another.
The Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) on Open Government is a group of eight civil

society representatives and four federal government officials who provide input and advice on
the development and implementation of the Government of Canada’s open government activities
88
(refer to Figure A12). MSF provides an ongoing dialogue between government and civil
society, enabling co-creation of a common platform for shaping and influencing policies of
government, and has played a central part in the development of Canada’s 2018-2020 National
Action Plan on Open Government.
Freedom of expression allows the press, media and citizens to hold the Canadian
government accountable for their actions; to question decisions and seeking justifications.
Freedom of the press is present in Canada’s 1982 constitution and section 2(b) of the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. All media outlets are privately owned, as well as
governmentally owned, enabling citizens to be exposed to different views and opinions, and
eliminating censorship of sources, therefore permitting Canadian citizens to formulate their own
conclusions.
Press freedom in Canada has descended rapidly, ranking 22nd out of 180 countries, as
revealed by the annual index from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) (refer to Figure A13).
88
"Canada's 2018-2020 National Action Plan on Open Government ...." 31 Dec. 2018,
https://open.canada.ca/en/content/canadas-2018-2020-national-action-plan-open-government. Accessed 21 Apr.
2019.
McElrea 51
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government contributed to falling four
spots from 2016 with its tight-lipped media policies. Surveillance of journalists and a lack of
protection for whistleblowers is highlighted by the latest report by the Canadian Journalists for
Free Expressions (CJFE). Journalists need to be protected instead of criminalized for uncovering
hard truths, to inform the public and increase transparency.
For instance, VICE reporter Ben Makuch may be jailed for refusing to grant access to
RCMP to obtain his records from a 2013 interview with an alleged ISIS fighter. After an Ontario
Court of Appeal decision upheld the RCMP’s request, Makuch told the CBC’s ‘’ As It Happens’’
that he and Vice Media are prepared to appeal the Supreme Court89. Freedom of the press is
jeopardised, risking exposure of sources, and breaching the rights of Canadians, setting a
dangerous precedent. If Canadian journalists are not protected, they will not be able to report
efficiently to the public or relay accurate information, hurting the citizens long-term.
Laws that explicitly protect source identities were absent, as well as shield laws. Shield
laws that exist in the U.S. and European countries provide legal safety measures for journalists.
The result of numerous cases of Canadian journalists’ freedom of press rights being violated has
led to the Journalistic Sources Protection Act (Bill S-231), proposing to amend both the Criminal
Code and the Canada Evidence Act to defend the privacy of journalists and their sources,
becoming Canada’s first national shield law. In theory, media and press are free in Canada, but
only when protected by law, this freedom is enforced. Also, free media is equal to civic control
by informing the citizens, and by creating more means of accountability, resulting in
transparency.
In comparison to most countries, Canada has a higher level of transparency, but

alongside countries with similar anti-bribery laws, Canada falls short. In 2012, Canada was
ranked as the worst G7 nation in fighting bribery by the OECD (Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development) working group on bribery, and the then ‘’tough-on-crime’’
89
"Press Freedom in Canada Is Under Attack Too - CBC.ca." 1 Oct. 2017,
https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/features/press-freedom-in-canada-is-under-attack-too. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019.
McElrea 52
Conservative government was criticized by international organizations such as Transparency

International as being soft on corruption90. Canada’s anti-bribery prosecutions are few. For
instance, Canada has produced four convictions since enacting the Corruption of Foreign Public
Officials Act. These results are not due to complacency, but using fewer tools to investigate and
prosecute white collar crime.
What is lacking in anti-bribery is a national financial regulator, such as the Securities and
Exchange Commission in the U.S.; Canada has provincial agencies regulating their respective
capital markets.91 More administrative and civil powers would be available with a national
enforcement agency, and a national regulator who could pursue public companies on a national
and international basis.
90
"Cracking down on corruption | Canadian Lawyer Mag."
https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/author/aidan-macnab/cracking-down-on-corruption-15717/. Accessed 22 Apr.
2019.
91
"Cracking down on corruption | Canadian Lawyer Mag."
https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/author/aidan-macnab/cracking-down-on-corruption-15717/. Accessed 22 Apr.
2019.
McElrea 53
Logic of Evil
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “evil” as being morally reprehensible, and associates it
with adjectives, such as sinful and wicked92. Whose morals is one abiding by? Everyone has
different morals, or morals that are of greater predominance. At a young age, one is taught rules
that allow good behaviour, however bad behaviour is punished, usually by parents, the ones who
established the rules.
For people who have lived their whole lives under a corrupt government, and that know
of nothing else, no democracy, or freedom to express their political views or thoughts, and where
bribery is a daily occurence, the rules are different, and are less overt. Corruption is used as a
crutch or a way to make life easier, and people will not choose to start operating without
embedded advantages. This environment produces individuals that foster ideas solely about
personal gain versus the well being of others.
Corruption can grow in a variety of political and economic environments, [it] particularly
thrives where accountable governance structures and processes are weak93. In developing
countries, government officials’ wages are insufficient to provide for their families, creating a
climate of desperation, leading to more vulnerable, corrupt individuals. For those who find
themselves in situations with few options, taking a bribe could be mandated by the necessity to
survive. Corruption evolves and perpetuates dishonesty and greed. That “necessity to survive’’
can develop into dissatisfaction, causing a wanting for more, by any means necessary, such as
forcing citizens to pay for services that would otherwise be free. Also, the normalization of
corruption influences the concept of “right or wrong”, and leads people to make corrupt acts
appear as “normal” under organizational logic. Money is at the center of it all, it is power.
92
"Evil | Definition of Evil by Merriam-Webster." https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evil.
Accessed 7 May. 2019.
93
"What is corruption? - U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre."
https://www.u4.no/topics/anti-corruption-basics/basics. Accessed 6 May. 2019.
McElrea 54
[Money] is a source of status and social prestige, a provider of physical and psychological
security, a contributing factor to human welfare and well-being, a basis for military strength, a
source of public influence and political power94.
Politicians fall prey to corruption because of their thirst for power. With political
corruption what often comes to mind is election rigging, people or organizations secretly giving
parties big donations, or parties and candidates buying votes instead of winning them. A
politician’s goal is to be elected, and then stay in that position or move up. Once elected the
public’s interests can come second, whereas the decisions made are to benefit those who fund
them. Private rather than public interest can dictate policy, and this is especially common in
democratic institutions that are weak or absent. What serves self interest, pleasing contributors,
and remaining in office because of all the money given for the re-election campaign, or
representing the values of the citizens, making decisions in their best interests, and risking losing
a job or position, as well as the contributors (the money)? The government also controls the
media, to control the message, and therefore places restrictions on access to information, only
allowing narratives that support their political views to reach the public. If no conflicting
information is available, then it prevents citizens from the development of conflicting ideas, and
ultimately is a strategy to remain in office unchallenged. It comes down to power or morals, and
when money is involved, compromising one’s morals is not hard to do. Greed is in human
nature, and not everybody can overcome it.
Company owners are motivated by profit; earning the most revenue, while paying the
least amount of expenses. Directors earn money for shareholders, consequently, better the
company does, the larger the bonus for the director(s). Paying bribes in countries, to land
officials or to bypass the judicial system, can be just another expense; exploiting countries with
governments lacking transparency, and where corruption is a currency. There are ethics, and then
there is making money.
94
"The Power of Money | Cadmus Journal." 24 Oct. 2012,
https://www.cadmusjournal.org/article/issue-5/power-money. Accessed 6 May. 2019.
McElrea 55
It is possible for anybody to be involved in corruption, and succumb to the temptation of

wanting more, not necessarily needing more, and doing anything to reach that end. Money and
power are the temptations present in corruption, and those living in poverty are not able to
refuse, and those that are accustomed to exploiting, cannot quit. Money and power drives men
and women, and the fear of losing either of the two can be enough of an incentive to continue.
McElrea 56
Religion
Corruption is referred to as a great sin in the Bible: “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe
blinds those who see and twist the words of the innocent”95. The disallowment of stealing is in
the Ten Commandments. Corruption is a negative phenomenon and is prohibited by many
religions, such as Islam and Christianity, yet some Islamic countries have the highest corruption
levels in the world, according to Transparency International, the World Bank and the PRS group.
Understanding the effects of religion on corruption is a growing interest. Strong hierarchical
religions, such as Islam, Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity have been indicated by many
empirical studies to be more prone to suffer from corruption. These results are, however,
controversial, largely due to the lack of empirical validity of the causal (or theoretical) links that
explain such a relationship: obedience to authority, negative culture reinforcement, amoral
familism and trust intermediation96. Therefore, there is also a multitude of conflicting studies
claiming that the religiosity of a state’s population is not related to events of government
corruption. Church attendance, a form of associational life representing citizen participation in a
social network similar to membership in other clubs, is a form of socializing that fosters social
capital and likely spills over into government97.
The early Christian faith condemned corruption, yet corruption later also developed
greatly in ecclesiastical structures, and achieved its peak with the selling of indulgences in the
Middle Ages, all until the condemnation of the latter (as well as of other immoral acts of the
clergy, with the Pope at the head) by Martin Luther98. This is an abuse of a trusted position with
the intention of obtaining benefits that are not legally justifiable. The abuse of power by religious
95
"Corruption, Causes and Consequences | IntechOpen."
https://www.intechopen.com/books/trade-and-global-market/corruption-causes-and-consequences. Accessed 5 May.
2019.
96
"The relationship between religion and corruption: are the proposed ...."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/12294659.2014.887353. Accessed 5 May. 2019.
97
"Towards an Economic Theory of the Church - CiteSeerX."
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.887.1789&rep=rep1&type=pdf. Accessed 6 May. 2019.
98
2019.
McElrea 57
figures is dangerous because it allowed unlawful actions in the name of one’s religion, one’s
beliefs. The Catholic Church used its major influence to exploit its followers to gain more
wealth, depriving the people.
There are two different impacts of religion on corruption. According to studies done by
La Porta et al.’s (1999) and Treisman’s (2000), corruption in Islam and Catholicism is a result of
the harmful effects on democracy and equality present in these religions. More recent studies
done by Samanta (2011) and North et al. (2013) indicate that religion could be a plausible
solution in reducing corruption by relying on beliefs that often sculpt the way that a person
interprets life, and provides the basis of morals to overcome obstacles of greed and temptation.
Religions regulate behaviour by instilling the expectation that improper actions are met with
divine retribution and that proper actions are rewarded99. Religion encourages people to act in
socially desirable ways, by shaping perceptions of the afterlife. Also, in different cultural
contexts the rule-enforcement power of religion may be stronger than other factors such as
government, community, and family100.
[Government] officials are drawn from the population at large, more religious officials
are likely to hold public office in states with higher levels of religiosity and these officials will be
less likely to engage in illegal (corrupt) behavior while in office101. It is expected that corruption
within the government is a salient issue for those with religious beliefs. For instance, the Gallup
Organization (American analytics and advisory company) conducted a poll of 1006 American
adults asking them the influence of a presidential candidate’s stance on the issue of government
corruption has on their vote. 80% of the respondents, reported of being a member of a religious
denomination, replied, “extremely” or “very important”, whereas 67% the respondents with
reported no religious ties replied with, “important” or “somewhat important”. This poll is a piece
99
100
"Religion and Politics: Contention and Consensus | Pew Research ...." 24 Jul. 2003,
https://www.pewforum.org/2003/07/24/religion-and-politics-contention-and-consensus/. Accessed 5 May. 2019.
101
McElrea 58
of evidence that reflects the higher significance of the issue of government corruption in the
minds of more religious citizens. [...] religion reduces corruption because it assists in the
organization of a civil society and makes citizens more likely to monitor elites102. Therefore,
there is a higher chance of civic participation amongst members of religious denominations
concerning the issue of government transparency, enabling enforcement of accountability and
clarity, participating in the elimination of corruption.
102
McElrea 59
Solutions
Usually, there are persons involved with political, economic and decision-making power,
and as the philosopher Karl Popper wrote in his book, The Open Society and its Enemies, that the
greatest problem is not the question of who should give orders, but how to control the one who
gives them103. Control includes the eradication of abuse of power in high positions of
government by digitalising public services, and enabling corruption reporting which impacts
public scrutiny, facilitating advocacy and citizen participation. As well as, closer interaction
between citizens and government, promoting transparency and accountability.
A popular initiative that numerous countries are adopting is e-government (refer to Figure
A14) through Information and Communications Technology (ICT), offering a new approach
towards gaining transparency and promoting anti-corruption. ICTs can reduce corruption by
promoting good governance, strengthening reform-oriented initiatives, reducing the potential for
corrupt behaviors, enhancing relationships between government employees and citizens,
allowing for citizen tracking of activities, and by monitoring and controlling behaviors of
government employees104.
There is an absence in capabilities where problematic technical issues can be

systematically addressed, such as concerns about transparency advances, the impact of privacy
laws, resistance by public officials, lack of financial and technical resources, resulting in a
culture of secrecy. For ICTs to be more effective they must move from increasing access to data
to tracking decisions and actions of government employees to ensure that the rules are
transparent and are being applied. The new technology can have a significantly positive effect in
third world countries where corruption prospers. For example, Pakistan restructured their entire
tax system so that the direct contact between citizens and tax officials is reduced to limit the
103
2019.
104
McElrea 60
opportunities for the request of bribes. The main obstacle that ICTs are facing is social attitudes
that can decrease the effectiveness of internal and management control. There is a reluctance to
allow government access to more citizen information, potentially infringing on privacy rights.
This is slowing the progression of ICTs.
Also, barriers are present in every system, varying from the size and level of the
governments. Small local governments lack technical assets and resources, but the representation
of civic information is more direct than larger provincial or federal governments who have the
resources, whereas reformers are hindered by bureaucracies who refuse to accept change. The
secret to sustained success [...] is a community ecosystem that applauds and supports the
reformers105. Reformers need to be supported in order to have policies changed and laws
implemented that allow greater transparency, but it cannot happen if only bureaucracies are
determining the terms, and not the people. Or change can be approached by an inverse notion
suggesting to establish a safe political ground for elected officials, by building the demand first.
The market and demand for public records is growing as software exponentially increases the
capacity for citizen interpretation and analysis106.
Recognition that copy-machine costs, resulting in lengthy delays are counterproductive,

must be done, in order to transition towards transparency websites. Some may take the step New
Jersey has, creating YourMoney.NJ, a transparency web site that is gradually adding open public
records107. Governments also have the opportunity to capitalize on the software universe. For
example, New York City has a portal for public sources, New York City’s DataMine and
Philadelphia is constructing a model based by London’s Datastore that stimulates new ideas for
data interpretation that can provide translations to energize whole new markets. More than
105
"Increase Transparency and Efficiency in Government - Governing." 30 Mar. 2011,
https://www.governing.com/columns/mgmt-insights/increase-transparency-efficiency-government.html. Accessed 6
May. 2019.
106
May. 2019.
107
May. 2019.
McElrea 61
opening up data, these initiatives are aimed at building a community of users that can make data
actionable, not just accessible -- moving the mission beyond open data for data's sake to create
tools that are helpful and illuminating, motivate action and increase transparency and efficiency
in government108.
Courts that are used by political regimes to further partisan or even private ends cannot
be thought of as an institution of good governance and such are illegitimate109. Nations such as
Denmark and New Zealand are prospering and eradicating transparency with strong judicial
systems that remain independent from all other branches of government. This means no political
figures paying judges to rule in their favour or manipulating, threatening the jury. Developing
nations struggle with this because of the lack of law enforcement. In addition, citizens with
corrupt governments have lost trust in their political system, and bribe, cheat and steal because
they do not believe that the law will protect them, so they protect themselves. In order to
overcome corruption, or at least manage it to some degree, it is necessary to deal with the
broader and much harder challenges of economic development. When less developed nations
begin to leverage their knowledge, skills, and human capital to raise their levels of economic
output, then the battle is already won110.
Corruption undermines not only economic development, but the trust of the people,
resulting in little citizen participation. Once citizens stop participating in the fight against
corruption, and the government is unable to punish the corrupt, and unjust, undeviating cycle of
hardship emerges. High levels of government transparency are obtained gradually, and with the
transition to open data portals, it allows citizens to be informed about their country and equips
them with the tools to hold their government accountable.
108
May. 2019.
109
"Attacking Corruption in the Judiciary: A Critical Process in Judicial ...."
https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wisint18&div=15&id=&page=. Accessed 6 May.
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110
"What Makes Countries Corrupt - The Atlantic." 10 Nov. 2010,
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/11/what-makes-countries-corrupt/66362/. Accessed 6 May.
2019.
McElrea 62
Appendix
Figure A1 “Open Data in a Nutshell - European Data Portal - European Data Portal.” European
Data Portal, 10 Dec. 2015,
www.europeandataportal.eu/en/providing-data/goldbook/open-data-nutshell.
Figure A2: “Open Data in a Nutshell - European Data Portal - European Data Portal.” European
Data Portal, 10 Dec. 2015,
www.europeandataportal.eu/en/providing-data/goldbook/open-data-nutshell.Figure A3Waugh,
Basil. “China's Tiananmen Square, 25 Years Later: UBC Experts Comment.” UBC News, 28
May 2014, news.ubc.ca/2014/05/27/tiananmen-square-25-years-later/.
McElrea 63
Figure A4: “Huge Protests in Brazil Leave Government Rattled | CBC News.” CBCnews,
CBC/Radio Canada, 14 Mar. 2016,
www.cbc.ca/news/world/brazil-anti-rousseff-protests-millions-take-to-the-streets-1.3490904.
Figure A5: O'Grady, AuthorStephen, and AuthorStephen O'Grady. “G20's Anti-Corruption

Action Plan Scrutinised.” Griffith News,
app.secure.griffith.edu.au/news/2014/11/19/g20s-anti-corruption-action-plan-scrutinised/.
McElrea 64
Figure A6: Denslow, Michelle. “MRS Speaker Evening - Better Customer Communications with
Behavioural...” LinkedIn SlideShare, 28 Mar. 2017,
www.slideshare.net/MichelleDenslow/mrs-speaker-evening-better-customer-communications-wi
th-behavioural-economics.
Figure A7: Transparency International. “Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 Shows

Anti-Corruption Efforts Stalled in Most Countries.” Www.transparency.org,
www.transparency.org/news/pressrelease/corruption_perceptions_index_2018.
McElrea 65
Figure A8 “GOPAC Signing.” UNKT, unkt.org/event/gopac-signing/.
Figure A9:“Vietnam GDP.” AloTrip, www.alotrip.com/about-vietnam-economy/vietnam-gdp.

McElrea 66
Figure A10: Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. “Canada's Action Plan on Open Government
2012-2014.” Open Government, 22 Jan. 2018,
open.canada.ca/en/canadas-action-plan-open-government.
Figure A11:“3 Branches of Government Assignment.” VIRTUAL JOVANOVIC,

www.bestlibrary.org/jov/2010/09/how-canadians-govern-themselves-worksheet.html.
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Figure A12: “Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR.” Business & Human Rights Resource Centre,
www.business-humanrights.org/en/multi-stakeholder-forum-on-csr.
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rsf.org/en/ranking.
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Figure A14: Organization. “E-Government, a New Opportunity That Should Be Seized.” Tehran
Times, 13 Feb. 2019,
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McElrea 1

Government Transparency: Corruption at Its Finest

Independent Study Unit- Issue Based

Friday, May 10th 2019

Corruption is a cancer: a cancer that eats away at a citizen's faith in democracy,

Summary of Research Methods 5

Case Study 1 - Algeria 27

Case Study 2 - Republic of Cuba 34

Case Study 3 - Vietnam 39

Transparency should be in all branches of government. No transparency means little

Summary of Research Methods

directives, governmental requirements and national legislation guaranteeing access to

Next, ‘’open-washing’’ is a term used to describe when information released by the

in mid-1992 in an influence-peddling corruption scandal, deeply dividing the republic10. He was

Corruption in government, local, national, judiciary, executive, legislative or even in the

Brown’s degrees consist of a BA (Bachelor of Arts), GDipLegalPrac (Graduate Diploma

"A.J. Brown | ANU College of Law." ​https://law.anu.edu.au/alumni/alumni-profiles/aj-brown​. Accessed

Corruption is driven by greed. In all societies, corruption is inevitable, because of human

These international organizations also put pressure on governments to improve

Transparency International (TI) is a leading politically non-partisan, non-profit,

Creating international anti-corruption conventions, prosecuting corrupt leaders and

In addition, TI started opening Transparency International’s Advocacy and Legal Advice

The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is a

An increase of governments’ roles in national economies post WWII , allowed growth of

Case Study 1 - Algeria

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, resigned afterr resisting weeks of protests,

The government is ineffective in implementing anti-corruption laws. The Algerian Penal

On the international scale, Algeria is classified as an upper-middle income nation, with

Globalization and exposure to worldwide media have increased their expectations

Case Study 2 - Republic of Cuba

State monopolized-capitalism is portrayed as ‘’socialism’’ contributing to the lack of

Case Study 3 - Vietnam

In former Soviet-bloc countries, a high-level of state capture (type of systemic political

​"Vietnam Corruption Report - Business Anti-Corruption Portal." 7 Sep. 2017,

https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/vietnam/​. Accessed 3 Apr.

Additionally, fiscal responsibilities are being transferred to the provincial levels,

and heritage collections, enhancing openness of information on government spending and

This controversy originates from SNC-Lavalin, an engineering, procurement and

The ​Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) on Open Government​ is a group of eight civil

In comparison to most countries, Canada has a higher level of transparency, but

Conservative government was criticized by international organizations such as Transparency

It is possible for anybody to be involved in corruption, and succumb to the temptation of

There is an absence in capabilities where problematic technical issues can be

This is slowing the progression of ICTs.

Recognition that copy-machine costs, resulting in lengthy delays are counterproductive,

Figure A5: ​O'Grady, AuthorStephen, and AuthorStephen O'Grady. “G20's Anti-Corruption

Figure A7: ​Transparency International. “Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 Shows

Figure A8 ​“GOPAC Signing.” ​UNKT,​ unkt.org/event/gopac-signing/.

Figure A9:​“Vietnam GDP.” ​AloTrip​, www.alotrip.com/about-vietnam-economy/vietnam-gdp.

Figure A11:​“3 Branches of Government Assignment.” ​VIRTUAL JOVANOVIC,​

Adu-Wusu, K. “Tank 26F-2F Evaporator Study.” 2012, doi:10.2172/1059829.

Compendium of Procedure - House of Commons,​

Government.” ​Open Government​, 31 Dec. 2018,

Valid?” ​Taylor &amp; Francis​,

You might also like

"A.J. Brown | ANU College of Law." https://law.anu.edu.au/alumni/alumni-profiles/aj-brown. Accessed

"Vietnam Corruption Report - Business Anti-Corruption Portal." 7 Sep. 2017,

https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/vietnam/. Accessed 3 Apr.

The Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) on Open Government is a group of eight civil

Figure A5: O'Grady, AuthorStephen, and AuthorStephen O'Grady. “G20's Anti-Corruption

Figure A7: Transparency International. “Corruption Perceptions Index 2018 Shows

Figure A8 “GOPAC Signing.” UNKT, unkt.org/event/gopac-signing/.

Figure A9:“Vietnam GDP.” AloTrip, www.alotrip.com/about-vietnam-economy/vietnam-gdp.

Figure A11:“3 Branches of Government Assignment.” VIRTUAL JOVANOVIC,

Compendium of Procedure - House of Commons,

Government.” Open Government, 31 Dec. 2018,

Valid?” Taylor & Francis,