MOCCA

Corruption has become a buzzword in academic and political debates over the last three decades. Despite the efforts of multinational organisations (Transparency International and the World Bank), the phenomenon has failed to be curbed in newly independent countries. In this context, there are increasing voices rethinking existing approaches and arguing for a better understanding of what corruption is, why it occurs and what we can do to stop it. MOCCA is a research and exchange programme that aims to understand corruption and find effective ways to tackle it, using the five post-Soviet Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) as examples. The main tasks of the MOCCA team are therefore as follows: 1) to collect original empirical data based on field research on the interaction between norms of international law, national laws and local legal cultures and informal norms in Central Asia and their implications for understanding corruption and its social impacts; 2) to situate the research within existing theoretical debates and to advance the debate on (anti)corruption through the development of new conceptual, methodological and comparative approaches; and 3) to provide strategic information to political and economic actors in the EU interested in or already active in the region, and to inform international organisations and decision-makers in the EU and Central Asia on possible ways to fight corruption and improve the business and investment environment in the region.