Guest Editorial
| Author | Mark Pieth |
| Published date | 01 June 2011 |
| Date | 01 June 2011 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/203228441100200201 |
| Subject Matter | Guest Editorial |
122 Intersentia
GUEST EDITORIAL
M P*
ere are few attempts to explai n why corruption has suddenly, over t he last two
decades, become such a fa shionable topic. ere is no doubt, corruption is an age old
problem and it has always been harmf ul to the socia l texture, to tr ust in institutions
and to economic development. But it has also been a key feature in domestic and
international p ower relations. Based on my own ex perience the most plausible
interpretation for the change of attitude is the increased pace of globalisation aer the
fall of the Berlin Wal l, making it far more obvious, especially to t he large economic
powers, that the red istribution of markets, both in the East and the South, wa s going
to take place at the risk of ser iously unfair competition practices.
Now, it took some time for the message to sink in and the concrete cha nge of
attitude, in particula r towards international commercial bribery (so far tolerated by
most host countries of corporations), nally took hold aer 2000. Several international
instruments (regional like the Conventions of the Organisation of American States
and the Cou ncil of Europe) or specialised b odies, like the i nstruments of the OECD,
and more general, like the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), led to the
adoption of harmonised national laws. e Mult ilateral Development Ban ks, led by
the World Bank f rom 1996, followed suit and adapted their policies a er the change
gained traction. e focus of the European Union has from the outset been very much
on the defence of its budget, an approach that is still gaining momentum with t he
current introduction of a report ing system.
For all t he tal k about corruption in internat ional fora by c ivil so ciety and the
private sector one should not delude oneself: corrupt ion is still widespread and
especially businesses active in the South are frequently confronted with solicitation.
ey nd themselves b efore the unat tractive choice of between doing business and
facing legal ri sks or doing no business at all. On the other hand the dist rust amongst
competitors is understandable: unf air competition through corrupt deali ngs remains
a fact of life.
e OECD has with its standards and especially with its tough peer reviews
attempted to level the playing eld. Success has been mixed so far. Laws have been
changed, law enforcement is as yet uneven and awareness in the public and private
sector may not be taken for granted. e major challenge over the last decade was that
even the main G8 powers remained wavering: whereas t he US and Germa ny now
* Professor of Crim inal Law at the Universit y of Basel, Switzerla nd and, since 1990, Cha irman of the
OECD Working Group on Briber y.
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