Contextualizing Conceptions of Corruption: Challenges for the International Anti-corruption Campaign

While in an initial legal and academic anti-corruption wave corruption itself was at the center of analysis, research is now increasingly focused on anti-corruption discourse and praxis. The latter analyses have generated numerous criticisms of anti-corruption activities and anti-corruption research, and these are presented in this literature review. These criticisms range from the anti-corruption norm’s legitimacy deficit, to the difficulty of defining and measuring corruption, to the discourse’s depoliticization through its technicalization. The anti-corruption movement faces particular difficulties with respect to the tension between the universality of the anti-corruption norm and its simultaneous contextualization for specific and local application. This tension is especially important because it touches upon the central issues of the respective political communities, such as the division of the private from the public, which differ from one cultural context to another. The contextualization of anti-corruption concepts has to be enabled in various areas: first, with respect to the culturally shaped conception of the division between the public and the private; second, with respect to local understandings of corruption, that is, what is actually meant when talking about “corruption”; and third, with respect to the low socioeconomic development levels in some countries, which do not permit the absence of corruption (evading a zero-tolerance rhetoric).corruption, anti-corruption, global governance, norms, cultural specificity, local implementation

Contested meanings of corruption : international and local narratives in the case of Paraguay

While the current international and transnational anti-corruption campaign (ITACC) has been successful in calling worldwide attention to the topic, several critics have argued that the term corruption and the concepts that underlie it are ambiguous and that corruption and anti-corruption have various meanings. This paper empirically explores these supposedly divergent meanings by comparing the ITACC with the anti-corruption discourse in Paraguay. In order to explore not only the tensions but also possible coalitions between the ITACC and the Paraguayan discourse, I have conducted discourse analysis and constructionist interviews. The empirical exploration shows that differences, and thus tensions, exist between both levels with respect to the causes and effects attributed to corruption, as well as with regard to the ultimate goal of the fight against corruption. However, there also is a strong discourse coalition between the ITACC and Paraguay concerning concrete countermeasures, which indicates the dominance of the international anti-corruption approach in the Latin American country. Very different actors with divergent understandings of corruption are able to act collectively against corruption via this discourse coalition, while still interpreting these actions according to their respective political agendas

Contextualizing Conceptions of Corruption: Challenges for the International Anti-corruption Campaign

While in an initial legal and academic anti-corruption wave corruption itself was at the center of analysis, research is now increasingly focused on anti-corruption discourse and praxis. The latter analyses have generated numerous criticisms of anti-corruption activities and anti-corruption research, and these are presented in this literature review. These criticisms range from the anti-corruption norm's legitimacy deficit, to the difficulty of defining and measuring corruption, to the discourse's depoliticization through its technicalization. The anti-corruption movement faces particular difficulties with respect to the tension between the universality of the anti-corruption norm and its simultaneous contextualization for specific and local application. This tension is especially important because it touches upon the central issues of the respective political communities, such as the division of the private from the public, which differ from one cultural context to another. The contextualization of anti-corruption concepts has to be enabled in various areas: first, with respect to the culturally shaped conception of the division between the public and the private; second, with respect to local understandings of corruption, that is, what is actually meant when talking about 'corruption'; and third, with respect to the low socioeconomic development levels in some countries, which do not permit the absence of corruption (evading a zero-tolerance rhetoric).Korruptionsverständnis kontextualisieren: Herausforderungen für internationale Anti-Korruptionskampagne. Während in einer ersten völkerrechtlichen und akademischen 'Anti-Korruptionswelle' Korruption selbst im Zentrum der Betrachtung stand, wird zunehmend der Korruptionsund Anti-Korruptionsdiskurs und die damit verbundene Praxis untersucht. Die Analysen haben viele Kritikpunkte hervorgebracht, die in diesem Literaturbericht zusammengefasst werden. Sie reichen von der mangelhaften Legitimation der Anti-Korruptionsnorm und - Programme, über die Schwierigkeit, Korruption zu definieren und zu messen bis hin zur Entpolitisierung des Diskurses durch seine Technisierung. Die internationale Anti- Korruptionsbewegung (deren Konzeption und Durchsetzung) ist zudem mit besonderen Schwierigkeiten in Bezug auf die Universalisierung der Anti-Korruptionsnorm und der gleichzeitigen Kontextualisierung dieser Norm für die spezifische, lokale Anwendung konfrontiert. Die Kontextualisierung ist jedoch gerade in Bezug auf Korruption von zentraler Bedeutung, da sie zentrale Fragen u. a. der jeweiligen politischen Gemeinschaft berührt. Sie muss in verschiedenen Bereichen ermöglicht werden: erstens in Bezug auf das kulturell geprägte, kontingente Verständnis zur Trennung von Privatem und Öffentlichen; zweitens in Bezug auf lokale Korruptionsverständnisse, d.h. was mit 'Korruption' eigentlich gemeint ist und drittens in Bezug auf sozioökonomische Niveaus, die die Abwesenheit von Korruption erst ermöglichen (weg von einer 0-Tolerance-Rhetorik)

Convergence, Divergence and a Complex Interplay: Chile and the International and Transnational Anti-Corruption Campaign

Several anthropological scholars have argued from an ethnographic viewpoint that local understandings of corruption vary around the world. Others who have critically analyzed the international and transnational anti-corruption campaign (ITACC) have argued that the ITACC is capable of covering up these differences, which creates misunderstandings about the aims in the fight against corruption. This article combines and advances both arguments by applying a post-development perspective and argumentative discourse analysis (ADA) to explore the local anti-corruption discourse in Chile - a country that is considered a success case in Latin America. This exploration shows that Chile's anti-corruption activities are highly political and are deeply related to narratives in the country's transition to democracy. By relating local narratives back to the ITACC the article reveals a complex interplay between local (and competing) corruption narratives that, at the same time, partially form discourse coalitions with the ITACC

Contracts-for-difference to support renewable energy technologies:Considerations for design and implementation

In this work, we present the major application and impact areas of Contracts-for-Difference (CfDs) in a European context, describe the most relevant design dimensions and discuss several design packages for CfDs as combinations of distinct design choices. We discuss these separately and in comparison. We also provide a detailed overview of CfD schemes implemented in Europe.This work comes against the backdrop of an ongoing European debate on reforming the electricity market and the broader introduction of CfDs. Leading voices in academia, the EU and its Member States agree that electricity markets must be supplemented with additional long-term options, including CfDs. Different experts advocate for different versions and implementation options of CfDs, including generation-based and generation-independent design approaches. Unfortunately, the already existing breadth and variety of design options for CfDs are not always acknowledged and hence comparisons and assessments have so far only been made on a partial foundation.A key design question for renewable support schemes in general, and CfDs in particular, is how to prevent electricity market distortions and preserve short-term, operational market integration without jeopardising the effectiveness of the schemes in leveraging investment of private capital for renewable energy deployment. We show in this report that a number of different CfD designs have already been developed aiming at preserving dispatch efficiencies and are, in fact, already implemented in various European countries. We describe how generation-based CfDs can be non-distortive for day-ahead markets based on existing designs. We discuss remaining issues that mainly arise through spill-over incentive effects across market segments (e.g. towards intraday, balancing and futures markets). We also discuss generation-independent CfDs, which have theoretical advantages over generation-based designs, in particular in relation to intraday and balancing markets, but feature unresolved implementation challenges and would imply rather significant changes in the market.We find that every CfD implementation faces numerous design choices, which all come with their own challenges and trade-offs. The answers to many CfD design questions will be highly context-specific, and evaluations for different CfD design choices must take into account the idiosyncrasies of each specific environment and market situation.With this report, we strive to contribute to an objective debate in which all stakeholders can engage in an unbiased discussion of pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses of all CfD design options, to find the best solution for each country and market situation. We strive for this report to become a comprehensive reference that provides overview and discussion of impact areas, design dimensions and choices for different CfD types. This report shall give opportunity for an informed basis for discussion of CfD designs supporting the European leap towards CfDs as a major mechanism for the support of renewable energy

Ausschreibungen für erneuerbare Energien. Wissenschaftliche Empfehlungen: Studie im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie. Projektnummer: DESDE15240. 07. Juli 2015

Eine Grundlage für die Eckpunkte zur Ausschreibung für die Förderung erneuerbarer Energien sind die Zwischenergebnisse einer wissenschaftlichen Studie zum Ausschreibungsdesign erneuerbarer Energien. Der Bericht analysiert die Marktsituation der verschiedenen erneuerbaren Energien und spricht Empfehlungen für ein Ausschreibungsdesign aus. Er wurde von einem Forschungskonsortium, das sich aus Ecofys, Fraunhofer ISI, Consentec, dem Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW), Takon und den Rechtsanwaltskanzleien Görg sowie BBG und Partner zusammensetzt, erarbeitet

Inception Report beyond2020 - Approaches for a Harmonisation of RES(-E) Support in Europe: Beyond 2020. Design and impact of a harmonised policy for renewable electricity in Europe. D7.1 Report

This report concludes the inception phase of the beyond2020 project, summarising the work done up to the mid-term of the project and offering a brief outlook on forthcoming working steps