Deconstructing Corruption in Africa

This book investigates corruption and anti-corruption efforts in Africa, emphasising the regional and thematic differences across the continent, whilst also exploring key patterns and trends.

Combatting the ethnocentrism of Western corruption research, this book highlights the importance of a home-generated and contextualised approach to understanding corruption in Africa. Bringing together a rich array of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research, the book considers how corruption manifests in a range of selected countries across the political, economic, and social spheres. The book adopts a strong comparative approach, exploring patterns, dynamics, and mechanisms in African societies. It assesses the historical underpinnings of corruption, emerging trends, and socio-economic realities before suggesting realistic contemporary solutions to the challenges of corruption in Africa. Bringing together academics and practitioners, readers will encounter intellectual discussion face-to-face with realities on the ground.

As such, the book will be useful for scholars, politicians, public officials, and civil society organizations, as well as for students and researchers across the fields of political science, public administration, economy and corruption studies.

Ina Kubbe is a professor at the University of Tel Aviv, at the School of Political International Relations, where she mainly researches and teaches on corruption, migration, gender politics, and conflict resolution. Ina is also a professor at the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Austria. She specialises in social science methodology and comparative research on empirical democracy, corruption and governance research. Ina has published several books, special issues, and articles in the field and is one of the founding members of the Interdisciplinary Corruption Research Network (ICRN) as well as the Chair of the ECPR Standing Group on (Anti)Corruption and Integrity.

Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai is a barrister and solicitor of the High Courts of Sierra Leone, and lecturer in the Department of Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Sierra Leone. He is deputy editor of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies’ Law Review, and founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law in the Faculty of Law, Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone. Over the last two decades, Abdulai has been a leading campaigner for the passing and implementation of freedom of information law in Sierra Leone and Africa as a civil society practitioner working for the Society for Democratic Initiatives. Abdulai was chair of the Governing Council of the African Freedom of Information Council, and is also chairperson of the Political Affairs Cluster of the African Union’s Economic Social and Cultural Council.

Michael Johnston is a Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, USA. He retired from Colgate in 2015, but since 2012 has offered lectures and seminars at the International Anti-Corruption Academy near Vienna. He now lives in suburban Texas in the USA, and continues his research projects.