Buying peace or fuelling war: the role of corruption in armed conflicts

Although corruption may have a corrosive effect on economies and rule-based institutions, it also forms part of the fabric of social and political relationships. This endogenous character means that conflict may be engendered more by changes in the pattern of corruption than by the existence of corruption itself. Such changes, frequently associated with domestic or external shocks, can lead to armed conflict as increasingly violent forms of competitive corruption between factions ʹfuel warʹ by rewarding belligerents. Controversially, ʹbuying-offʹ belligerents can facilitate a transition to peace; but ʹsticksʹ such as economic sanctions, rather than ʹcarrotsʹ, have dominated international conflict resolution instruments. While ʹbuying peaceʹ can present a short-term solution, the key challenge for peace-building initiatives and fiscal reforms is to shift individual incentives and rewards away from the competition for immediate corrupt gains. This may be facilitated by placing public revenues under international supervision during peace processes