Foreword

The view from 2011 is strikingly different. Corruption problems figure prominently not only in news reports of political and economic transformations but also as concerns in international development policy, foreign assistance, business strategy, and democratization. Once corruption was seen as a distraction, or indeed as a “functional” influence on developing societies; now, a strong consensus holds that it is bad for growth and democratization. Reform efforts are regularly launched around the world, often with great fanfare. Annual country rankings are eagerly anticipated in many quarters and viewed with apprehension in others. An immense policy and scholarly literature has sprung up on corruption, reform, and ways of dealing with and assessing both. An anticorruption movement that began in various places, and reflected disparate agendas, at the end of the Cold War has now matured into a significant international policy and advocacy force – one that arguably has reshaped basic ideas about development, accountability, and justice.