Overcoming Systemic Corruption: Case Studies from Jamaica and Ukraine

Overcoming Systemic Corruption: Case Studies from Jamaica and Ukraine

An ongoing debate in the study of corruption seeks to understand why anti-corruption reforms fail, particularly in contexts where corruption is systemic. Key recent contributions have explained failure with collective action theory, arguing that individuals are not motivated to pursue reform because they assume that others around them will continue to behave corruptly, meaning that they would incur individual costs without helping to bring about the change needed to reduce corruption (and hence being able to access the public good of improved governance). This paper turns the debate on its head, by examining two cases which have demonstrated considerable success in tackling systemic corruption – in the police in Jamaica and in medicines procurement in Ukraine – and seeking to understand the conditions which made change possible. These findings are then related back to collective action theory, to offer insights into…