With the help of some talented programmers who offer their work to the open-source community, as well as some good old fashioned poking-around-with-code, we have a new layout for the Commons. Not all features are up to speed yet, but the outline is here.
If you haven’t followed the ongoing political tussle between South Africa’s national police, their elite Scorpions anti-corruption unit, and the national prosecutor, it’s worth reading to understand how corruption charges can be used as political weapons in many countries. Some of the recent coverage: The TimesThe GuardianBusiness DaySABC News
Global Integrity collaborates with many of the world’s leading governance and corruption researchers at some of the top think tanks around the world. We were thrilled to hear that our friends at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa were just named the top think tank in sub-Saharan Africa!
Internally here at Global Integrity, we’ve been deeply engaged in a discussion about Western countries’ use of clean elections as a litmus test for “democracy” or “governance.” The current debate over the direction of U.S. policy in Pakistan, captured nicely by the Washington Post today, demonstrates the limits of such an approach.
Our own contacts in Nigeria confirm that Ribadu’s departure is a blow to the country’s fight against corruption.