Citizen-led, anti-corruption initiatives are a relatively new field but one of great interest to development experts. In this book, Shaazka Beyerle, a senior adviser at the Washington-based International Centre on Non-Violent Conflict, documents 12 cases of non-violent movements that have focused on fighting corruption, demanding accountability or regaining lost rights. The results include electoral and police reform in Brazil, Korea and Uganda, improved roads and schools in Afghanistan and a reduction in support for the Mafia in Italy.
Overall, the research concludes that corruption affecting everyday people – defined by the author as ‘graft and abuse’ – can be restrained when citizens join forces and seek information and establish accountability through participatory democracy.
Review: Citizens fighting corruption
Curtailing Corruption: People Power for Accountability and Justice Shaazka Beyerle, Lynne Rienner Publishers, £18.95