Corruption and Society

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 11.45–13.15, Žofín Palace, Forum Hall

In cooperation with CERGE-EI and Open Society Fund Prague

Keynote Speech:

Peter Eigen, Founder, Chairman of the Advisory Council, Transparency International, Germany

 

Moderator:

Randall K. Filer, President, CERGE-EI Foundation, Professor of Economics, CUNY, Czech Republic/USA

Panel Discussion:

GrigoryYavlinsky, Economics and Politician, Russia

Laurent Weill, Professor of Economics, University of Strasbourg, France

Christopher Walker, Director of studies, Freedom House, USA

Avi Dichter, Former Minister of Internal Security, Israel

 

 

The panel discussed how civil society has can fight corruption. Peter Eigen argued that the broader context of the failing global governance is the cause of corruption across national borders. He said that “we need a new paradigm of governance, a new social contract, because we cannot trust the private sectors to decide our faith.” Laurent Weill added that “corruption can happen as soon as someone has power”, and acknowledged how corruption occurs in both the public and private.

 

Christopher Walker stressed that the basis for corruption in Central Europe was the lack of a functioning civil society. He stressed the need of investigative reporting and media to put issues on the table for political debate. Avi Dichter agreed that a strong civil society makes corruption weak, and stated that “cooperation in fighting corruption is the name of the game”. He stated that terrorism and corruption are the same threats to a strong civil society, as they both threaten the safety and security of many for the benefits of the few. He concluded that “the only difference between corruption and terrorism is that you do not see the victims and the injured people in corruption”.

 

Lastly, Grigory Yavlinsky continued Mr. Dichter’s point on the need for cooperation by calling for international cooperation in fighting corruption in Russia. He stated that “in Russia the only way to overcome corruption are deep political institutional changes” and a strong global civil society.