“Openness about the activities of the defence sector builds public confidence and counteracts suspicions” - Frank Boland, Director of Force planning, Defence Policy and Planning Division, NATO

Corruption reduces public trust and acceptance of the military. The Global Corruption Barometer 2010 shows that between 2004 and 2010, perceptions of integrity in the military and police have improved. Yet in 2010, 58% of respondents worldwide reported the police to be corrupt or extremely corrupt, and 30% described the military as corrupt. Fighting corruption helps militaries to keep the public’s trust where they have it, and build it where they don’t.

Just one major scandal can deeply undermine the public’s perception of the armed forces, and it can take years to rebuild their reputation. Pervasive small-scale corruption—for instance, having to pay bribes to the police—affects the daily life of individuals and can build resentment in a population.

Pride of the civilian and military staff in their service is seriously degraded when the staff knows of corruption in their leadership. In some cases, a poor institutional reputation brought about by corruption can make it more difficult for defence and security establishments to recruit the best individuals, further harming the sectors’ capabilities and reputation.

Known corruption erodes the public’s trust in the armed forces and, in some cases, the government as a whole. A lack of public trust in the armed forces and government may encourage ordinary people to look for other sources of protection— including patronage networks, tribal networks, organized crime, and even insurgencies.

Some countries have made significant strides in combating corruption in their armed forces, and have been able to gain public trust as a result. One example is Colombia, where the defence sector’s poor reputation was inhibiting government efforts to tackle drug and insurgency challenges.

Case Study: Afghanistan

The 2010 UNODC study Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as reported by the victims reported that in a 12 month period, one out of 2 Afghans had to pay a bribe to a public official; 25% of Afghans surveyed had to give one or more kickbacks to the police. In total, Afghans paid $2.5 billion in bribes in one year, which is equivalent to 23% of the country’s GDP. The report states: “On a community level, corruption undermines faith in local government actors and strengthens local non-governmental structures that are not accountable to the people, to democratic structures or to the rule of law. On a national level, pervasive corruption undermines the entire sense of Afghanistan as a nation… Corruption is at the heart of all of the difficulties that Afghan people are encountering today, it is at the heart of Afghanistan's current challenges and instability, and it must be at the heart of all peace building efforts in Afghanistan.”

As the case of Afghanistan shows, the impact of defence and security corruption is huge, and its myriad effects are deeply intertwined. Corruption hampers people’s daily lives and debilitates economic development. Corruption creates a vast divide between the people and the state, and it is a major downfall as the country struggles to form a solid national identity. Corruption also has an immediate security impact: with 65% of respondents reporting that they “have lost trust in public services,” the incentive to look for services and protection in other bodies, like the Taliban or organized crime, is clear.

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