Countering corruption in the defence sector requires a high level of political commitment, and the active engagement of the defence leadership in initiating change.  However in many nations defence corruption is not a widely discussed subject and in fact it is often unmentionable.  This is not to say that senior officers and defence officials are not acutely aware of the effects of corruption within their own organisations, or that they do not understand how it impacts on the pride of the civilian and military staff in their service, but as the issue affects all levels and all functions in many different ways it is often considered and addressed in a very fragmented manner. 

In order to contribute to nations' understanding of defence corruption as a distinct issue which requires an overarching approach, and to enable individuals and groups to have policy impact within defence institutions, Transparency International in co-operation with NATO has developed a one week education course for senior officers and defence officials.  Since 2008 the course has been successfully run thirteen times in 5 countries, and has included over 250 participants from 22 nations. In November 2010, the Building Integrity in Defence Establishments course was accredited by NATO as a formal course and is now available at all NATO schools in Europe for those who wish to enrol.  

Our Approach on Building Integrity

The Building Integrity Course aims to strengthen the foundation for leadership, integrity, good governance and change management in the approach to countering corruption within the defence and security sector. 

It is aimed at the next generation of senior defence leaders, full colonels and above, senior defence ministry officials and those with a role in the middle of the hierarchy in effecting change.  We take a participatory and constructive approach to providing participants with the knowledge, understanding and attitude needed to tackle corruption in the defence sector in their own countries. 

Emphasis is placed on open communication and building relationships between participants, staff and speakers.  Individual contributions to the course are encouraged, and discussion groups, case studies and guest speakers are a widely employed mechanism for sharing knowledge.  This approach fosters a cross-cultural examination of the topic of corruption in the defence sphere and advances awareness and understanding of experiences and best practice in implementing concrete preventive counter-corruption mechanisms in nations.

For further details on the Building Integrity course, follow the links below:

• Course Outline

• Building Integrity: Stakeholders & Partnering

• Building Integrity: Added Value & Impact

Contact us for more information on our course, to arrange a course in your country, and/or to apply as a teacher or a student.

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Course Outline

In order to strengthen integrity and reduce corruption, the course objectives aim to enhance knowledge and understanding of:

• the concept of transparency and good governance

• how to strengthen integrity and reduce corruption

• how to bring integrity and corruption-reducing strategies into management

• how to engage appropriately with the public and civil society

The course has been developed around the Transparency International defence and security corruption typology, which provides a framework (above) in which to understand the main corruption risks as applicable to defence and why a comprehensive approach to countering corruption in the defence sector is essential. 

While neither definitive nor exhaustive, the framework is robust enough to serve as the starting point for most nations.  It breaks the generality of defence and security corruption down into five broad headings encompassing different types of corruption. Over the course of the week each of the major corruption risk areas is covered in more detail, and the major tools and best practices for addressing those risks are examined.

Whilst the course overall has a limited emphasis on theory and doctrine, an initial framing of the subject and appreciation for the distinction between preventive and punitive approaches to countering corruption helps to set the scene.  This section includes a lecture on the rule of law and a discussion on the main defence corruption issues in participants’ own nations.

The course progresses to providing participants with a comprehensive overview of the main tools and current best practices of nations in countering the major defence corruption risks. This includes elements on leading and effecting changes in the way the defence sector counters corruption, public financial management, the role of civil society and the media, and ideas on how to tackle corruption in the procurement chain.   A series of lectures, discussions and exercises is given to examining codes of conduct and how personal behaviour and the instilling of values and standards within an institution can contribute to minimising corruption risk. This module is based on Transparency International’s extensive research into current business conduct best practice globally.

The course is based on broad research and the practical experience of the Transparency international Defence and Security Programme in working with nations and with NATO to assist in the design and implementation of practical preventive counter corruption mechanisms across defence institutions and the defence industry.  The TI Defence Team has worked extensively in South America, Eastern Europe and in Afghanistan and over the past seven years have built up a substantial repository of knowledge on corruption in the defence and security sector.  

Future steps to enhance the Building Integrity Course include the creation of new course materials and the development of risk specific modules eg. procurement integrity, and the development of an online resource bank of educational materials.  The course has been accredited by NATO as a formal officers’ education programme and will be routinely available at NATO training and education schools including the NATO School Oberammergau and the Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Sarajevo.  A ‘train the trainer’ programme to build a cadre of defence education professionals with the subject matter knowledge to deliver the course is also anticipated.  

Building Integrity: Stakeholders & Partnering

A key strength of the Building Integrity Course is the range of partner institutions and stakeholders who actively participate both in course delivery and in the development of the syllabus and course materials; we actively seek to bring practitioner experience into the educational environment. 

NATO, the United Kingdom Defence Academy, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Swedish National Defence College and the Peace Support Operations Training Centre (PSOTC) in Sarajevo have all contributed to shaping the aims and objectives of the course, and to ensuring that the five day programme is as informative and beneficial to participants as possible.  

The active engagement of key stakeholders within nations and international institutions has also the course in this regard.  The delivery of case studies by senior defence leaders who have initiated and directed the counter-corruption efforts within their own ministries and institutions provides a wealth of credible and authentic material to provide participants ideas and suggestions for implementing a change process in their national defence and security establishments.  

Example case studies include:

• Bulgarian defence reform (Augustina Tzvetkova, Deputy Minister of Defence, Bulgaria)
• The experience of the Polish MOD in countering corruption (Mr Maciej Wnuk, Director of Anti-Corruption Procedures, Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• Ukrainian counter corruption measures (Dr Stephan Havrish, National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine)
• Corruption in Afghanistan and how it is being tackled (Mr Valey Arya, Afghan National Advisor to NATO)
• Organised crime and police corruption (Chief Inspector Mike Holdsworth, EUPOL Mission in Afghanistan)

A strong emphasis is also placed on the role of the media and civil society in building integrity and countering corruption. Civil society and media organisations are actively encouraged to attend the course as full participants and as speakers.  This facilitates a shared understanding of the issue and aids the development of links between defence and the media and civil society, critical to breaking down negative perceptions on both sides and an essential first step in enhancing the accountability and transparency of defence institutions through engagement with external stakeholders.

Building Integrity: Added Value & Impact

The emphasis placed on building a long term community of defence integrity practitioners, enhancing expertise, and fostering the will to implement change within defence establishments means that the Building Integrity Course is unlike a traditional military education programme.  Our strategic approach, focussing on the senior cadre of officers and defence officials who have the capacity to influence up and down the chain of command, magnifies the impact of the education we provide and ensures greatest effect within the defence and security institutions of participating nations.   

Cultivating the development of networks, internationally and within a nation, within defence institutions, and between defence and external stakeholders such as civil society organisations and the media, facilitates the dissemination of knowledge and builds momentum for addressing the issue of corruption in the defence arena.