Local-Level Use of Transparency Against Corruption and International Institutions

Corruption is an important challenge in the contemporary world.

In the EU, it has been a major concern due to the misuse of structural funds, now rising again with the acceptance of Ukraine and Moldova as new candidates.

Transparency is the key corruption prevention measure promoted by international institutions, but at the local level the extent of its implementation and effectivenessagainst corruption remains underexplored.The goal of this project is to analyse what impact the internationalisation of public policies generates locally for the effective use of transparency as an anti-corruption tool.

How are international recommendations regarding transparency applied at the local level?How does the success or failure of anti-corruption policies depend on the locally adopted transparency measures?

To what extent isthe effectiveness of transparency as an anti-corruption tool at the local level explained by the influence of international institutions?The project will analyse three sector-specific cases examining the effectiveness of transparency-based anti-corruption policies at thelocal level and the influence of international institutions on it in an ""old"" EU member state, a ""new"" EU member and an EU candidatecountry.

Its novelty consists in the focus on local-level structures and processes and specific economic sectors (maritime cargotransportation, tourism and residential construction).

It will bring valuable insights about the challenges of transferring policiesdeveloped in one socio-political context to the other and provide a novel contribution to the literature on internationalisation ofnorms and policies, empirical effects of transparency and comparative politics.The researcher's previous work in the EU periphery, current work on public integrity, supervision by an expert on transparency in theEU at a host with a long record of comparative research and a placement at Transparency International make sure that the projectgoals will be attained.