Assessing Eastern Europe's anti-corruption performance: views from the Council of Europe, OECD, and Transparency International

Abstract

This article compares the results of Council of Europe and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) anti-corruption monitoring reports to two Transparency International instruments, the Corruption Perceptions Index and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention Progress Report. It constructs and applies a simple typology (four-cell matrix) consisting of the combinations of good/deficient implementation of international anti-corruption provisions and high/low level of perceived corruption. As the sources and the comparative method used cannot prove causality, the article introduces three ideal types of interpretation to discuss the relevance of the anti-corruption regulatory framework in both domestic and cross-border anti-corruption policies. In the conclusion it is argued that there is a specific Eastern European pattern of anti-corruption performance that implies a need for new strategies.