About

Space for Transparency is the official blog of Transparency International, the global coalition fighting against corruption. It provides an independent space to start a conversation on corruption, governance, transparency and accountability with authors from the anti-corruption movement on how to overcome corruption worldwide.

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.

Transparency International believes that corruption matters and that fighting corruption is essential for several reasons.

• Corruption has dire global consequences, trapping millions in poverty and misery and breeding social, economic and political unrest.
• Corruption is both a cause of poverty, and a barrier to overcoming it. It is one of the most serious obstacles to reducing poverty.
• Corruption denies poor people the basic means of survival, forcing them to spend more of their income on bribes. Human rights are denied where corruption is rife, because a fair trial comes with a hefty price tag where courts are corrupted.
• Corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law.
• Corruption distorts national and international trade.
• Corruption jeopardises sound governance and ethics in the private sector. Corruption threatens domestic and international security and the sustainability of natural resources.
• Those with less power are particularly disadvantaged in corrupt systems, which typically reinforce gender discrimination.
• Corruption compounds political exclusion: if votes can be bought, there is little incentive to change the system that sustains poverty.

How Transparency International fights corruption is laid out in its Strategic Plan.

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