## Political corruption persists despite international organizations' efforts.
The article examines how IO membership influences corruption dynamics among nations.
It proposes a nuanced argument: the impact of cooperation depends on fellow members' integrity.
Key Findings:
* Incredible Punishment: Corrupt states within an IO may not enforce anti-corruption norms against each other, making punishment ineffective and incredible.
* Lack of Credible Commitment: This ineffectiveness stems from weak commitment to shared governance standards.
Imitation Effects:
* Leaders observe their corrupt counterparts in the same organization adopting such practices,
* And may rationalize similar behavior, normalizing unethical conduct.
### Implications
The research demonstrates that:
* Countries joining IOs with other corrupt members significantly increase their own corruption rates over time.
Methodology:
* Analyzed diverse data sources including new information on IO anti-corruption mandates,
* Employed various estimation strategies to validate findings.
| The Dark Side of Cooperation: International Organizations and Member Corruption was authored by Emilie M. Hafner-Burton and Christina J. Schneider. It was published by Oxford in ISQ in 2019. |
