Diana Schmidt-Pfister – författare

Anti-corruption programmes, projects and campaigns have come to constitute an essential aspect of good governance promotion over the last two decades. The post-communist countries in Eastern Europe have presented one of the first key targets of transnational anti-corruption efforts, and indeed most of these countries have shown an impressive record of respective measures. Yet path-breaking institutional and policy developments have not set in before the mid-2000s both at the international level and in most Eastern European countries. Are these the beginnings of a mutually synergetic success story?In order to answer this question, we need to better understand the complex interplay between the international and domestic domains in this policy field and geographic region. This book provides in-depth and comparative insights about this interplay, with a particular focus on the involvement of domestic social movements, governmental political machines and international legal mechanisms. We find that, on all three levels of analysis, political and material interests of relevant actors are complemented and at times contradicted by normative claims. Moreover, at the interfaces of the three levels, coincidental and spontaneous developments have largely outweighed systematic implementation and coordination of appropriate anti-corruption strategies.This book is based on a special issue of Global Crime.

What can be done against corruption? If we trust most assessments, the global anti-corruption movement has so far not managed to markedly reduce the level of corruption, especially in the more problematic countries. This book examines the actual workings of transnational anti-corruption advocacy on the ground. In the 21st century, transnational advocacy has become ever more complex. Using the case study of contemporary Russia the book reassesses what this means for advocacy practices. It thoroughly maps the entanglement between international, national and local levels and reveals a range of obstacles posed to constructively involving civil society in practice, despite unanimous rhetorical commitment on the part of international actors and governments. The book further shows that the effectiveness of transnational advocacy is determined by both strategic action and situational contingencies. The book speaks to readers in, at least, three main fields of study: transnational advocacy, the anti-corruption movement, and Eastern Europe, particularly Russia.