Stakeholder analysis helps a program team identify who has the power to champion or block changes in corrupt practices. It offers a structured process to identify key players and their role, power and incentives relevant to the corrupt practices being assessed. The process is applicable to explicit anti-corruption and integrity programs as well as development or peacebuilding programming that have reducing corruption as one objective, amongst many, within their theory of change.

We pay particular attention to situations of endemic corruption, in which corrupt behaviors are not occasional aberrations by individuals; rather, corruption is widespread, systemic and normalized. As many contexts of endemic corruption also experience conflict, our process also has an integrated conflict lens.

This Working Paper is part of the Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program’s “Corruption as a System” research-to-practice workstream, which integrates systems approaches into anti-corruption. Working Papers are CJL’s way of sharing initial findings that are substantial and worthy of review, but still open to evolution and improvement through scrutiny from the community of practice.