The good governance challenge

Abstract

"Accountability, transparency and the fight against corruption have been high on the policy agenda in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly since the publication in 2004 of the influential Arab Human Development Report1, which focused attention on the dire state of governance in the region. Continuing this line of inquiry, Transparency International, as part of a shared endeavour by civil society stakeholders, progressive policy makers and international institutions to promote the reform of governance systems within the region, has conducted evidence-based assessments of the “National Integrity System” in each of four countries - Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine.2 The National Integrity System is formed by the key institutions and actors which shape how a country is governed, including the executive, legislature, judiciary, and the public oversight institutions of the government, as well as non-state actors, such as the media, civil society and the business sector. As expressed visually in the figure below (Figure 1), where these institutions are strong and play their respective roles within the overall integrity system, transparency, accountability and integrity is firmly established and, as a consequence, corruption risks are minimal."