States perceived to be highly corrupt are at the same time those with a poor human rights record. International institutions have therefore assumed a negative feedback loop between both social harms. They deplore that corruption undermines the enjoyment of human rights and, concomitantly, employ human rights as a normative framework to denounce and combat corruption. But the human rights-based approach has been criticized as vague and over-reaching.

This handbook has been produced by the Basel Institute on Governance in support of the USAID-funded project "Engaged Citizenry for Responsible Governance". It is meant to be used in conjunction with the handbook on social accountability methods, developed by the Basel Institute in support of the same project.

This handbook has been produced by the Basel Institute on Governance in support of the USAID-funded project "Engaged Citizenry for Responsible Governance”. It is meant to be used in conjunction with the handbook on participatory monitoring, developed by the Basel Institute in support of the same project.

This cross-country report on prevention of public sector corruption analyses the preventive measures that have proven to be effective and successful in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The review focuses on twenty-one countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and includes examples from OECD countries. The report is based on questionnaires that were completed by governments, NGOs and international partners in participating countries.

This paper sets out lessons from a mixed-methods study that identified and explored ‘positive outlier’ cases of bribery reduction in challenging governance environments. It discusses the two cases the research examined in depth: