| TraCCC hosts discussions with scholars by sally acharya Corruption takes place “under the table,” as the phrase goes, where it’s hidden from view and seems impervious not just to the eyes of the law, but to the measurements of scholars. So how is it possible to gain a reliable sense of just how pervasive corruption is in a society, and whether or not anticorruption measures are working? That was the topic of a recent discussion at the Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), part of a series of small, informal brown-bag lunches at which scholars from AU and neighboring institutions gather to hear and discuss works in progress. “As you know, corruption is one of the oldest and most difficult problems to solve,” said researcher in residence Hyungsok Kwak, a member of the South Korean government’s anticorruption commission. But as corruption is increasingly being measured and analyzed empirically, researchers must look into the accuracy of the measurements, and also determine the form that long-term studies should take. Kwak is working on assessment tools for measuring corruption and shared his findings so far with scholars familiar with the global issue. “Evaluation has the ultimate objective of forming a national consensus on corruption prevention,” he said, “and developing systematic and comprehensive measures that will fundamentally cut the nexus between giving and taking.” TraCCC is the first center in the United States devoted to studying issues of global crime, corruption, and terrorism. Much of its work has focused on Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union, but it also has hosted scholars from or conducted research in countries as diverse as South Africa, India, Algeria, Turkey, Colombia, France, and Finland. It moved last year to new offices in Brandywine, which has given it more space for visiting researchers. Future lunch topics include: anticorruption initiatives in the Czech Republic, March 29; corruption in the education sector, Apr. 5; and Kyrgyz migrants in the United States, Apr. 12. |
