Corruption, conflict and security are profoundly intertwined – and nowhere is this more evident than the Middle East and North Africa. As the least peaceful region in the world according to the Global Peace Index, it exemplifies the myriad ways in which corruption and violence fuel each other.
Many states have been built on corrupt systems that empower the few and employ Wasta (favouritism) and bribes, stratifying societies and building up grievances that lead to conflicts and bloodshed. In Libya, inequality, poverty and corruption inflamed the Arab spring protests. When leaders failed to establish a democratic state after the ousting of the Gaddafi regime, another civil war erupted between various armed groups, with the latest ceasefire in 2020 still failing to curb violence among factions. As the state is incapacitated, elites battle with each other over the country’s rich oil resources, and corrupt public officials serve themselves instead of the Libyan population. Especially in the western region and along the southern border, armed groups flame tensions as the public lead demonstrations calling for better access to basic services. This all fuels further factional strife and ongoing instability. The country has thus been unable to hold elections, and the UN has claimed key institutional players continue to hinder progress. Until leaders stop this corrupt cycle, the country will be unable to move forward.
Across the region, lack of transparency in state security budgets allows funds to be spent without public input, and even for them to be redirected by corrupt actors. And in a region with so much conflict, such budgets are significant – offering substantial gains for corrupt actors. On Transparency International’s Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index, no country in the region ranked better than “high” risk, with most ranking as “very high”. Even in countries not actively engaged in conflict, considerable defence budgets are aimed at others in the region – such as the Gulf countries’ spending in Yemen.
At the bottom of the region (and the world), Yemen and Syria demonstrate the tragic impact of protracted conflict. In already weak systems suffering conflict, corruption robs the state of resources, further impairing governments’ ability to fulfil their mandate of protecting the public and rule of law. This in turn heightens grievances and draws out internal conflicts. Corruption was one of the main criticisms of the government when the civil war began eight years ago. Now the state has collapsed, and the country is facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with two thirds of its population in dire need of food. In Syria, the current regime retains its grip on power, but the government has done little to direct resources to support the people. Twelve years of fighting has collapsed the infrastructure – leaving much of the population without access to clean water, health care and food – and the country is now facing a cholera outbreak.
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