Browsing by Author "Snyman, Roan Alexander"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemGames of truth in the age of transparency: international organisations and the construction of corruption(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Snyman, Roan Alexander; Woermann, Minka; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.ENGLISH SUMMARY: The objective in this thesis is to analyse the role that the anti-corruption industry plays in international governance and in the administration of states. The anti-corruption industry has expanded at a very rapid rate since its inception in the mid-1990s. Despite the growth of the industry, anti-corruption reforms have failed to make progress in the alleviation of corruption. This failure to address the widespread prevalence of corruption has not deterred the expansion of the industry. On the contrary, failure in the alleviation of corruption has served only to incite its vigour and vitality. There is very little understanding of what the anti corruption industry is and what its actual global impact has been. For this reason, it is very important to come to grips with the underlying motivating factors that drives the expansion of the industry, as well as the totalising nature of its discourse. Therefore my aim in this thesis is to create a better understanding of the fight against corruption as an international governmental practice. This entails unpacking its discourses and practices and the role that international organisations have played in bringing the industry to life and driving its global proliferation. I make use of Foucault’s method of genealogy to trace the development of anticorruption discourse since the 1950s. Additionally, Foucault’s concepts of governmentality, disciplinary power, normalisation and the three modes of objectification are used to analyse the industry. Utilising Foucault’s work presents a clear picture of how knowledge and truth are constructed for the purposes of achieving governmental, political and ideological objectives. The argument is made that International organisations and western actors have fostered into existence a totalising form of discourse which is part of an endeavour to clarify the complexities of the international political economy, as well as part of a strategy to mitigate the risks that are presented by unpredictable and ‘abnormal’ states, societies and cultures. This indicates that the failure of the industry to address the prevalence of corruption is not due to a lack of support or resources. On the contrary, the industry has not failed at its objective, because fighting corruption is not its primary purpose. The industry is driven, legitimised and globally propagated with the objective of displacing and transposing divergent governmental structures, institutions, policies, and practices of states and societies that operate contrary to international norms. As such, anti-corruption has become an endeavour to instil a normative framework of governance globally; a framework through which alternative modes of governance, different ethical codes, morals and societal values are characterised as abnormal and thereby delegitimised and displaced.