Call for Papers

for a Special Issue of Global Public Policy and Governance

Organizers

Institute for Global Public Policy, Fudan University

Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption

Aims and Scope

Corruption is a perplexing and perpetual pathology, having haunted human societies for ages with its various forms and ever-changing characteristics. Corruption destabilizes economies, damages social relations, and undermines political legitimacy. It also adversely affects governance, causing low government capacity, shoddy public service provision, murky rules and regulation, and poor policy implementation. At the societal level, corruption aggravates income inequality, destroys social trust,  and leads to social grievances and unrest.

To deal with the challenges of corruption, governments around the world have made various efforts by adopting more rules and regulations, taking new policy initiatives, and changing strategies and tactics. However, just as the causes of corruption defy simple diagnosis, so do the effects of these efforts. There are cases widely perceived as successful, such as Demark, which has been ranked as the cleanest country in the world by Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and its “three-pronged” strategy, and Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) with its solid anti-corruption capacity. However, cases of failure in fighting corruption abound and require equal, if not more, attention. The question is not so much how but why. What lessons can we draw from the successes and failures of fighting corruption? Why have there been so few clean societies around the world? What are good anti-corruption practices, and how can we learn from them?  These questions impel scholars and practitioners to conduct in-depth studies of country- or region-specific initiatives and strategies to investigate what may work, under what circumstances, and to what extent. A one-size-fits-all solution cannot be expected.

This special issue of Global Public Policy and Governance is organized by the Institute for Global Public Policy at Fudan University and Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption. It aims to examine new developments in anti-corruption theories and practices. Papers dealing with experiences, lessons, and prospects of fighting corruption in specific nations/regions would fit well. Evidence-based papers investigating the causes, patterns or consequences of corruption are also welcome. Authors may choose their own research methods (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed), but papers should all be theoretically sound and empirically informed.

The special issue may cover the following and other relevant topics: 

• causes of corruption at individual, institutional, and societal levels

• new or changing modes of corruption

• impacts of corruption on society

• corruption and culture

• corruption in the private sector

• good anti-corruption practices

• corruption and institutional reform

• anti-corruption innovations

• measuring corruption and anti-corruption success

• civic engagement in corruption prevention

• comparative studies of corruption

Guest Editors

Ting GONG, Institute for Global Public Policy, Fudan University, China; Department of Public and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

LAU Chi Ho, Director of Academy Office, ICAC, Hong Kong SAR

Submission Instructions

Proposals (around 500 words) should be submitted to Dr. Tu Wenyan (Email: wenyantu@fudan.edu.cn) by 25 October 2023. Proposals should comprise the working title of the paper, research questions, methodology, and initially expected findings. An email notification will be sent to the proposal authors upon acceptance.

Full papers are due by 15 April 2024. The papers may receive comments from the editors for possible revision. The revised papers will then be submitted to the journal for double-blind peer review via the submission system. The Special Issue is expected to be published in the second half of 2024. Accepted papers will be put online first.

Papers should adopt an APA referencing style and have a length of less than 10,000 words with everything included. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have carefully read the submission guidelines of the journal.