Hi Shaazka,

Thank you for sharing this intriguing research project with the New Tactics online community!  I have an example of an anti-corruption campaign that I would like to share with you.  I very happily came across this example and others from all over the world via twitter!

This example comes from India, where petty corruption is an ongoing and pervasive problem.  The initiative is coordinated by an organization called the 5th Pillar, and the idea came from an Indian physics professor. Frustrated with the demands for bribes in India for public services that should be free, the professor created zero rupee notes to give to officials in protest when bribes were requested.  Vijay Anand, the president of the 5th Pillar NGO took the idea further - he printed a large number of these zero-denomination notes and distributed them widely to citizens in India. The initiative was a huge hit!  Fumiko Nagano of the Communication for Governance & Accountability Program (CommGAP) writes,

"[Anand] thought these notes would be a way to get people to show their disapproval of public service delivery dependent on bribes. The notes did just that. The first batch of 25,000 notes were met with such demand that 5th Pillar has ended up distributing one million zero-rupee notes to date since it began this initiative. Along the way, the organization has collected many stories from people using them to successfully resist engaging in bribery.

One such story was our earlier case about the old lady and her troubles with the Revenue Department official over a land title. Fed up with requests for bribes and equipped with a zero rupee note, the old lady handed the note to the official. He was stunned. Remarkably, the official stood up from his seat, offered her a chair, offered her tea and gave her the title she had been seeking for the last year and a half to obtain without success. Had the zero rupee note reached the old lady sooner, her granddaughter could have started college on schedule and avoided the consequence of delaying her education for two years. In another experience, a corrupt official in a district in Tamil Nadu was so frightened on seeing the zero rupee note that he returned all the bribe money he had collected for establishing a new electricity connection back to the no longer compliant citizen."

Why was this tactic such a success? Anand believes that the officials' fear of setting off disciplinary proceedings is a big factor.  More importantly, however, is the willingness of the people to use the zero rupee notes.  People are no longer afraid to stand up to the practice of corruption, especially now that they know they are no alone in this fight. Fumiko writes, 

"This last point—people knowing that they are not alone in the fight—seems to be the biggest hurdle when it comes to transforming norms vis-à-vis corruption. For people to speak up against corruption that has become institutionalized within society, they must know that there are others who are just as fed up and frustrated with the system. Once they realize that they are not alone, they also realize that this battle is not unbeatable. Then, a path opens up—a path that can pave the way for relatively simple ideas like the zero rupee notes to turn into a powerful social statement against petty corruption."

For the full article, please read Fumiko Nagano's blog post titled 'Paying Zero for Public Services.'  For lots of other examples of civil society action against corruption, see Fumiko's other posts under the tag 'Anti-Corruption.' 

[Photo credit: 5th Pillar]

Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder

This is an interesting illustration of the effectiveness of non-violent citizen action protesting in this case the efforts of the police and government authorities to shut down their own anti-corruption commission that was becoming threatening to their own power.

In a blog post titled, '“Saya Cicak” (I am a Gecko): The Power of Public Support' Fumiko Nagano writes, 

"In 2002, Indonesia established an anti-corruption commission (called the Corruption For me, the most striking point of the presentation was that people came to KPK’s defense when state authorities began to clamp down on itEradication Commission, or “KPK” for short in Indonesian).

The KPK became so good at its job of fighting corruption (Corruption Crimes Court, which is attached to the KPK, has a 100% conviction rate) that it began to threaten state authorities, antagonizing the police and the Attorney Generals’ office in particular. Direct attacks to undermine the KPK ensued, leading to an arrest by the police in late October 2009 of two KPK deputy chairmen, Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, on charges of abuse of power. During the two men’s court hearings in November, hours of wiretapped conversation, allegedly between members of the police and the attorney general’s office, were played. On the tape, the speakers were heard plotting to frame the KPK for bribery in an effort to undermine the Commission.

The tape recordings were widely picked up by the media, triggering a huge public outcry in Indonesia. In a country where people do not have a tradition of public demonstrations to demand what they want, ordinary Indonesians took to the street for days to show their support for the KPK. Responding to the former chief detective Susno Duadji’s comment likening the KPK going against the police force as a “gecko fighting a crocodile,” people started a movement, “Saya Cicka,” Indonesian for “I am a Gecko,” demonstrating their solidarity with the anti-corruption commission. They also created banners reading “Say No to Buaya (crocodiles).”In addition to street protests, Indonesians also turned to social media. On Facebook, a university lecturer created a group supporting the KPK and protesting the actions of the police. Named “Gerakan 1.000.000 Facebookers Dukung Chandra Hamzah & Bibit Samad Rianto” (Movement of 1,000,000 Facebookers Supporting Chandra Hamzah & Bibit Samad Rianto), this cause quickly gained support; as of today, the group has more than 1.3 million members. The overwhelming display of public support for the KPK led to two concrete actions: the President set up a fact-finding team to probe the case, and high-level officials from the police force and Attorney Generals’ office resigned amid the controversies over the wiretap.

This is a powerful story of what can happen when public mobilizes around a cause."

 I think this is the kind of example you are looking for?

Edit: The author of this blog  is looking for case studies as are you - good contact.

Susan Atwood Global leadership instructor University of Minnesota 

Dear Shaazka:

• Liberia: 2006: Great to hear this, Partners for the Promotion of Girls Education in Liberia is one group working on such project to enhance trasparecny and curb corruption. Women participation is cardinal in every sector from promoting to enchancing and entrenching their economic, social and cultural rights. The work in this direction begin with the formulation of the Liberia Civil Society Budget Watch Network, Partners For the Promotion of Girls Education in Liberia is one women/girls organization that is using non violent movement to curb corruption at the local level. By tracking the the flow of companies social fund and the county development fund in leeward counties in Liberia. They are located in Bong County, central Liberia.

My contact details: Pel_advocatesyahoo [dot] co [dot] uk or alfredwrehyahoo [dot] co [dot] uk