The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2016 21 year. When President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria took office, he inherited a military weakened by corruption and unprepared to defend against threats like Boko Haram. In Ukraine, govern- ment corruption not only triggered an international crisis but hampered the military’s ability to resist Russian intervention. Corruption can pose an even greater danger to vulnerable populations. By corroding the rule of law, corruption gives predators more opportunities to exploit the vulnerable—from government officials targeting the poor for bribes to traffickers ensnaring children. In India, pervasive corruption weakens the enforcement of legal protections against domestic violence, leaving women more vulnerable to abuse. As the world grapples with these issues, the Department of State is elevating anti-corruption in our work. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, Secretary of State John F. Kerry called on the world to make corruption a “first-order national security priority.” He echoed this message at the Anti- Corruption Summit hosted by the United Kingdom last month. Taking a Broader, Bolder Approach Answering the Secretary’s call, however, requires a broader and bolder approach to address corruption. Here are four steps the State Department is taking. First, we are balancing law enforcement responses to corrup- tion by strengthening efforts to prevent corruption in the first place. This can include creating streamlined and transparent governmental processes to reduce opportunities for graft, using technology to increase citizens’ access to information, or train- ing investigative journalists and civil society leaders—who play such a critical role in detecting wrongdoing, as we saw in the wake of the “Panama Papers” exposé. As funding for democracy, human rights and governance increases this year, the depart- U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE The State Department is going beyond law enforcement to unite a wider range of anti- corruption tools and actors. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Sarah Sewall discusses links between corruption, human trafficking and illegal fishing with port security officials in Thailand.