Impact and Success of Programming on Anticorruption, Transparency and Accountability in the MENA Region

Abstract

The evidence suggests that there has been little successful programming on anti-corruption, transparency and accountability in the MENA region. While good governance has been a prominent part of donors’ programmes since the 2000s, and has had positive effects in certain services and activities, there are no cases where it has been evidenced to have improved integrity, accountability or transparency at a country level. Since the 2000s, international organisations such as the EU, the World Bank and the OECD have all carried out anti-corruption, transparency and accountability work as part of their governance or state-building programmes. While some of their technical programmes have been effective, the evidence suggests they have failed to tackle elite corruption or bring about more transparency and accountability in authoritarian regimes. K4D helpdesk reports provide summaries of current research, evidence and lessons learned. This report was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development