Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 01/2011

After the Conflict: Nation- Building and Corruption

April 2010

Transparency International

Abstract

Globally, there are 26 ongoing armed conflicts and nearly onesixth of the world’s population lives in so-called ‘weak governance’ zones. In 2009 alone, the United Nations estimated that 42 million people were displaced due to conflict and persecution. The scale and scope of the challenge to end violence and rebuild countries cannot be underestimated. Corruption poses a unique set of obstacles to reconstruction and recovery in countries suffering the aftermath of violent conflict, whether internally or externally sparked.