Today, USAID released its Dekleptification Guide, a new handbook for uprooting entrenched corruption and seizing windows of opportunity to dismantle kleptocracy. In June, Administrator Power announced that USAID was creating this resource for staff working in countries trapped in severe corruption, particularly those whose courageous citizens open reform windows. As the Administrator noted, “moving rapidly and aggressively in historic windows of opportunity will make these reforms harder to reverse.”
The Guide brings together lessons learned based on groundbreaking reform movements around the world, from Ukraine to Malaysia, from South Africa to the Dominican Republic. It highlights the work of the heroes of dekleptification: engaged citizens who risk it all to open windows of opportunity, make government work for the people, and lead their country toward a post-kleptocratic future. In doing so, the Guide sets the agenda for how assistance providers can partner with these frontline leaders, scholars, and donors to seize political openings for enduring democratic progress. It brings together the overlapping perspectives from the fields of anti-corruption, development, and national security – all of which are needed to fight back against kleptocracy, particularly when it crosses borders and is weaponized by authoritarian regimes.
The full Guide is available on USAID’s website here. This Guide is one component of a suite of products that USAID’s Anti-Corruption Task Force is developing to durably elevate anti-corruption at USAID and advance the implementation of the new U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption. Those resources will be regularly updated and posted at https://www.usaid.gov/anti-corruption.