Parliamentary Oversight and Corruption in the Caribbean: Comparing Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada

Parliamentary oversight is a key determinant of corruption levels. This article presents research findings on parliamentary oversight in two Caribbean countries: Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada. Our results cast doubt on the results of previous research and also indicate that certain facets of ‘the Westminster’ system need to be relaxed, to reflect contextual reality in smaller island economies. Political will to adopt our recommended reforms is critical, but, as in other countries, inertia often dominates the political environment. Until citizens demand that their elected representatives establish various oversight and anti-corruption mechanisms and ensure these mechanisms are free of political influence, the institutions will be ‘window dressing’ and corrupt actions will go undeterred and unpunished

Legislative strengthening meets party support in international assistance: a closer relationship?

Recent reports recommend that international efforts to help strengthen legislatures in emerging democracies should work more closely with support for building stronger political parties and competitive party systems. This article locates the recommendations within international assistance more generally and reviews the arguments. It explores problems that must be addressed if the recommendations are to be implemented effectively. The article argues that an alternative, issue-based approach to strengthening legislatures and closer links with civil society could gain more traction. However, that is directed more centrally at promoting good governance for the purpose of furthering development than at democratisation goals sought by party aid and legislative strengtheners in the democracy assistance industry

Managerial Practices of Political Risk Assessment in Jordanian International Business

The aim of this research is to examine critically managerial practices of political risk assessment (PRA) in Jordan. In this research, unlike most recent studies, the managerial practices of risk assessment are examined within a firm-specific characteristics framework. In line with the research objective, a survey strategy was adopted: quantitative and qualitative methods were combined and staged. A multi-methods approach was used to achieve different research purposes. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the entire target population of Jordanian international firms, while semi-structured interviews were held with managers in a subset of firms selected via a stratified sample of respondents to the self-administered questionnaires. In analysing the data, non-parametric statistics were used. The main findings of this research are that the majority of firms conduct PRA occasionally, and that the assessment is most often motivated by an internal need such as an investment proposal. Different sources of information are used by international firms, of which internal categories are the most important