Page 41 - bne_March2019_20190306 magazine

bne March 2019 Eurasia I 41
not take immediate steps to ensure the independence of institutions, including the judiciary, and support civil society, which enhances political engagement and public oversight.”
Armenia bucks the trend
For possible light at the end of the tun- nel, anxious observers must turn to the South Caucasus’ smallest nation, namely impoverished Armenia.
TI, encouraged by Armenia’s post- revolution anti-corruption government, announced the country had gained two places in the CPI rankings. Armenia, which saw a change in government in May last year after a peaceful but relentless demonstration of people power against cronyism and corruption, placed 105th of the 180 assessed countries while its points score remained at 35.
TI stated: “Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegov- ina, Georgia, Ukraine, Macedonia and Armenia are all the countries to watch over the next few years. Categorised by their challenging political landscapes, only Armenia bucks the trend with a positive change in government.”
In the executive summary accompa- nying the latest rankings, TI added: “Armenia is expected to begin enacting anti-corruption reforms in 2019. Judicial reform should be at the top of the prior- ity list; a proper separation of powers,
as well as the appropriate checks and balances, will go a long way to ensuring these reforms are a success. The role of civil society is also crucial.”
Pressured Iran drops eight places
Armenia’s big neighbour to its south, Iran – like Turkey home to around 81mn people – has seen its reform efforts complicated by the fact that it has come under a sustained sanctions-led econom- ic attack from the US. A big concern for Iran presently is fighting profiteers and speculators seeking to exploit criminal opportunities presented by the market turmoil generated by the Trump admin- istration sanctions regime. Seeking to curb public anger over such crimes, Iran has even set up special courts to deal with such offenders.
The Islamic Republic has nevertheless dropped eight places to rank 138th on the CPI 2018. Its score worsened to 28 points from 30 points in last year’s survey, giving it the same position as Guinea, Lebanon, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Russia.
Dismal reality of the “Stans”
The lowest CPI scores for the Eastern Europe & Central Asia have once again been posted by the six “Stans” with Mongolia (listed as Asia Pacific by TI but included as Eurasia in bne news cover- age) faring a little better.
“Unsurprisingly, given its average score of 35 [compared to the global average of 43], Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the second lowest scoring region in the index, ahead of Sub-Saharan Africa which has an average score of 32,” noted TI, adding: “With this dismal reality in mind, a disturbing trend is emerging. Highly corrupt countries that score poorly on the CPI also tend to have fragile democratic institutions and their citizens have weaker political and civil rights.”
“In many post-Soviet countries, checks and balances do not exist that would ordinarily keep powerful private individuals and groups from exerting exceptional influence over government decisions. In these settings, illicit lobby- ing practices take place and conflicts of interest go undisclosed,” it added.
Although it only gained one point – taking it to 37 in 2018 from 36 the year before – Mongolia managed to move up 10 places to 93rd on the CPI 2018 ranking.
Kazakhstan slipped from 122nd to 124th with its score unchanged at 31, while Kyrgyzstan improved three places to 132nd. Its score of 29 was also the same as what it was awarded the year before.
Further down the rankings are Uzbeki- stan at 158th with 23 points (2017: 157th & 22), Tajikistan at 152nd with 25 points (marking a significant gain on 2017’s 161st & 21) and trailing in last
as the entire region’s worst performer, Turkmenistan, which placed at 161st with 20 points (2017: 167th & 19).
Source: Transparency International CPI 2018 presentation on Eastern Europe & Central Asia.
www.bne.eu