Fragile and conflict affected States are home to nearly 1 billion people facing a variety of protracted challenges exacerbated by climate change, food insecurity, gender inequalities, and more recently by the economic repercussions of COVID-19. The implications of fragility and conflict are also macro-critical: they destabilize balance of payments positions, disrupt trade and financial flows, and hinder the development of productive resources – all areas of deep concern to the IMF and fellow institutions.
Corruption is most often a driver of fragility and conflict, and confronting corruption in these fragile environments is critical for long-term stability and shared prosperity. But this work is extremely challenging and is made more so by a lack of transparency and accountability in weak institutions. How do we leverage the latest thinking together with what we have learned from past engagements? How can we make efforts to address corruption in fragile and conflict states that are most likely to succeed?