The rise of kleptocracy is a threat to democracy and a contributing factor to the ongoing democratic recession that is negatively affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world. In kleptocracies, powerful actors weaponize corruption and globalization to amass authority and wealth. Kleptocrats use a broad set of tactics to maintain the political and economic influence necessary to cement control and suppress dissent, relying on local and global networks of enablers.
In contrast to the sophisticated web of enablers that kleptocrats rely on, the actors best positioned to prevent and mitigate kleptocracy have a collective action problem. Government institutions, civil society organizations, and businesses focused on combating corruption are often constrained by a lack of jurisdictional and delegated authority, expertise, and resources to cooperate effectively. In addition, these actors often have competing agendas and comprise a wide variety of interests within them that make collaboration harder.
This has hindered anti-kleptocracy efforts because while kleptocrats have been able to rely on transnational flows and actors, responses have tended to be isolated, uncoordinated, and uninformed by international practice. Yet, there are examples from across the world where non-violent collective action efforts—strategic collaboration by citizens, civil society, or other interested parties to take joint actions in support of shared objectives or a shared issue—have attempted to push back against kleptocratic governance, or at least create a window of opportunity for meaningful anti-corruption and pro-democracy reform.
This report analyzes seven case studies, representing a geographically diverse group of countries with a variety of political systems, that highlight the factors that contribute to the success or failure of non-violent collective action movements against kleptocracy, and offers recommendations for policy makers, reformers, and the business community. The report contributes evidence to addressing DEPP Learning Agenda (See Annex 1) question 3.2 Under what conditions is collective action of civil society actors most effective in holding government actors and institutions accountable?
The key success factors that emerged from the analysis of the seven cases include:
- Multi-sectoral coalitions that were diverse in gender, age, and social class.
- Decentralized structures without reliance on a clear leader or figurehead to coordinate action.
- Protests and collective action movements were peaceful and actively avoided engaging in violence.
- Civil society and media actors were primed to take advantage of a new moment of citizen dissatisfaction, having had experience with social movements around smaller-scale issues.
- Civil society organizations had evidence-based analysis and policy proposals ready to share with lawmakers.
- International partners played a complementary role in collective action by providing resources and knowledge that helped activists, civil society, and media actors to mobilize citizens.