Engaging the Trump Administration on anti-corruption
This blog post by The Corruption, Justice & Legitimacy Program provides a good description of the state of play in the anti-corruption landscape under the Trump Administration. As all practitioners in anti-corruption have found, the past year has been confusing, disheartening and generally uncertain. This article notes that “…the Trump Administration has given practitioners minimal information about, and limited opportunities for engagement on, its approach to countering corruption globally.” Acknowledging the situation, the writer offers a three pronged approach: linking US interests to anti-corruption actions, streamlining anti-corruption considerations and finally proper scoping and using clear terms. This article reminds us that we are dealing with a hollowed out system and the best available are very small actions
Why should we care and what should we do? Over many years, the US has been part of a vibrant community of anti-corruption practitioners and in many instances has led the way worldwide. Today that is not the case and to that end we should be concerned and do what is possible to still encourage and engage those individuals within the Trump Administration who still view anti-corruption as an important element of law enforcement and prevention both nationally and internationally. The dismemberment of so many different anti-corruption units within government has left a void and though the suggested actions are small, as practitioners we should be pragmatic, understanding that there may still be some limited opportunities. Unfortunately the past is over, and the future is the only way forward.
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