Lithuania – theater and anti-corruption
So much of the time we are fixated on solutions that are very pragmatic and practical, versus thinking about how we send messages about anti-corruption and how they really are being incorporated by the public and governmental officials. The London School of Economics highlighted what has occurred at the Transparency School for younger people in Lithuania, provided new innovative approaches to anti-corruption, using theater as a mechanism. The participants were provided with opportunities to act out bribery scenarios and solutions, both positive and negative in several scenarios including health care. “[T]he participants pointed out that, when planning their intervention, they did not account for the fact that patients and doctors may choose not to buy in easily into new anti-corruption measures, and that continued persistence of patients to offer a bribe may in turn subsequently weaken the resolve of the medical personnel not to take one.”
Why is this important and what should be done next? This article reminds us that it is important to not accept the many truisms in the world of anti-corruption. And, as the programming described above noted that it was for younger people interested in anti-corruption, this is doubly important. The fact that a person may be pushed to take a bribe would not be considered by most of us, young or old, and yet it can occur, and that a bribe may not be elicited. As focusing on anti-corruption is relatively new, it is essential that we continue to remind ourselves and others that it is such a broad area in terms of human behavior we should apply as many good ideas as possible. The means of how to do this should also be broad, and this article has shown us that theater can be a good tool, allowing for broader conclusions when talking about corruption actions. Corruption is as broad as the society it comes from.
Link:
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/psychologylse/2025/10/20/using-theatre-and-behavioural-science-to-rethink-anti-corruption-interventions/