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Corruption, Cambodia and My Bad Excuses.

08/03/2018 by sissel Leave a Comment

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Prime Minister for 30 years in one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Cambodia and My Bad Excuses

Reading about the coming national elections in Cambodia, and the crackdown on the media and the opposition; I was thinking about the last election in 2013. At the time I was in Cambodia. Still, I regret that I did not do anything to show my support for those who stood up against Prime Minister Hun Sen and his party. They have been ruling Cambodia for more than thirty years. And Cambodia is ranked as number 161 out of 180 in terms of corruption.

There is no guarantee that the opposition party would have fared any better regarding human rights or corruption. But the protests were just as much about people’s right to protest.

Still, I did nothing, and that was the case, as far as I know, with most expatriates. I was thinking: ”I am only a guest here”, “they can send me out”, “my support would not make a difference anyway”, among the bad excuses I came up with.

I was just sitting indoors during Sunday demonstrations, sniffing the tear gas; or listening to the organized street rallies by the ruling party. Rallies with, probably, paid “supporters” on scooters and open trucks.  [Read more…]

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Uncategorized Tagged: Corruption, Responsibility

Disasters & Corruption: Solutions

02/09/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

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Credit: www.azquotes.com

In a previous post I wrote about the connection between disasters and corruption.

In this post I will focus on solutions.

The detrimental effects of corruption on development (and hence disaster risk) are established. The same regards what constitutes a good, efficient and low-corrupt society. “Accountability”, “transparency” and “rule-of-law” are usually part of that package.

The tricky thing is how to get there. How can the transition take place? From a society permeated by corruption to a, if not perfect, much more well-functioning one?  [Read more…]

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Uncategorized Tagged: Corruption, Disaster

Disasters & Corruption – Part 2: Vulnerability

02/07/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

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Credit: www.azquotes.com

Does corruption make people more susceptible to disasters?  In other words does corruption shape the impact and magnitude of a disaster?

In the first post in this series I wrote about what is more well-known regarding corruption and disasters. Such as the embezzlement of relief funds and substandard buildings collapsing during earthquakes.

However, when it comes to how corruption influences vulnerability in general, little has been written, and even less has been said.

There are a few published articles on the subject but they are beyond most people’s reach. Official reports and documents often only hint at a connection, and use terms like “ lack of accountability” or “weak governance”.

That does not mean a relationship does not exist. Because, there are several things we actually do know.  [Read more…]

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Uncategorized Tagged: Corruption, Disaster

Disasters & Corruption – Part 1: What We Know

22/05/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

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Credit: www.azquotes.com

If you have any experience from working with disasters, you are probably aware of the severe impact corruption has on disaster management. The problem with corruption is of course that it is opaque; and often occurs in countries where transparency is low and press freedom repressed. Hence, it can continue undisturbed. Journalists or others who want to investigate cases of severe corruption also risk putting themselves in danger.

In academic literature the influence of corruption on disaster management is mentioned; but mostly in a generic way without elaborating on the matter. When I browsed through the index lists of my books on disaster management, the word corruption occurred in only one of them. Articles that do exist are often shared among academics or networks of professionals. In other words, within closed communities talking to themselves.

So, what do we know?

[Read more…]

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Uncategorized Tagged: Corruption, Disaster

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