Corruption is one of the most popular vices in the world today. Indeed, some have observed that it ‘eats through societies like cancer’ with its impact being vivid and undeniable. Entire governments and communities have been brought down by corruption. Definitively, corruption is the giving or acceptance of bribes which may take many forms including a favor, a physical commodity or money. Sadly, corruption has also infiltrated some of the most ‘sacred’ institutions like security and the military. Even though most instances are not publicized, some security officers have been known to receive bribes to turn a blind eye to certain activities that pertain to their duties thus resulting in insecurity incidences. Since this vice is integrated with the increasing transnational activities of most countries, it has presented one of the most significant threats to security.
Globalization is one of the trends adopted by businesses, companies, and other corporations. It involves the operation of a company or corporations in several nations. Due to the operation in several countries, there have been increased international activities by the specific multinationals. In order to detail how globalization has transformed corruption, it is important to understand the ‘structure’ or model of the corruption phenomenon. First, it is difficult for corruption to sprout randomly as it is a culmination of slowly induced tendencies of receiving or giving unjustified favors. Essentially, this means that corruption starts on a small scale or model then expands to a larger scale. Therefore, globalization has transformed corruption by scaling it to an international level. Through globalization, corruption has been customized to fit into an international model rather than the popular local scope. This ‘transformation’ has had some direct or indirect impact on security.
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There are many ways in which corruption poses a threat to the state. These ways cut through security, leadership, the economy, and even peace (Anderson, 2008). One of the ways in which corruption is a threat to the state is the compromise of duty and responsibility. The giving of bribes which come in different forms is corruption. These bribes can, for instance, be given to someone to compromise his or her work. A customs officer, for example, can be bribed to ignore the checkup of a specific luggage or even individual. In such a situation, the said individual may possess drugs or weapons thus threatening the security of a nation. In addition, the failure to check the luggage may lead to the entry of unlawful cache of firearms that may be used to target innocent civilians or destabilize a state.
Another way in which corruption may threaten the state is through resource mismanagement. Corruption, especially in public offices, results in fund misappropriation which can ultimately pose a threat to the state. Indeed, misuse of funds may lead to funds insufficiency which means that various individuals who have duties that are pertinent to state security may not be compensated. When security personnel boycott work due to lack of wages, the immediate impact is that the state security becomes fragile and vulnerable to internal as well as external threats. Lastly, corruption may threaten the state through the element of standards, inspection, and quality. Officers who have the responsibility of ensuring that products and companies meet the required quality and safety criteria may be corrupt thus compromising the quality of such products. In the case of chemical plants or foodstuff production, such neglect may result in either explosions or food poisoning.
Insurgency is one of the phenomena accelerated by corruption. In the Middle East, most of the militant groups and other security threats are aided by corrupt activities (BookTV, 2008). Indeed, the acquisition of weapons and the facilitation of other security-threatening advances are catalyzed by bribery. Terrorism is probably the greatest transnational threat to security. In most cases, this vice arises out of insurgencies that begin as rebel groups and misled ideologies. It must, however, be noted that corruption and terrorism have a lot in common. First, some security officers have been involved in corruption activities that have resulted in the selling of amour and other warfare equipment when serving on international missions (Thachuk, 2005). Also, the border smuggling of bomb-making material and other weapons has greatly been attributed to corruption.
Drugs have also been directly linked to the transnational threat. The business of drug smuggling and other related activities have had connections to some of the greatest corruption scandals in the US. Drug smuggling and trade are complementary to weapon smuggling. Therefore, when drugs are smuggled, weapons are sneaked along. Despite the specific corruption activities that are induced to enable narcotics and weapons to be smuggled, the money made from the sale of drugs has been known to be used in funding terrorist activities. In fact, in the US, terrorism and drugs have been the most significant transnational threats. Apart from border-related activities, radicalization which is a transnational threat has been associated with corruption (Brysk, 2002).
The US is known to have one of the most robust frameworks in the world. One way that the US can reinforce this structure and respond to these threats is tightening the discipline of various security entities. Tightening the discipline implies that the US should put up stringent measures on how various security officers are enrolled in service. Also, after an elaborate shortlisting system, these officers should have a regular assessment and impromptu inspections. Through this, security officers serving at the borders, locally, or on international missions will have excellent discipline and integrity which is a fundamental countermeasure of corruption.
References
Anderson, W. (2008). Disrupting Threat Finances: Using Financial Information to Disrupt Terrorist Organizations, pp. 1-46. Hurlburt Field: Joint Special Operations University.
BookTV. (2008). Lt. Col. John Nagl "The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual ." Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuDlrrRDfUw .
Brysk, A. (2002). Introduction : Transnational Threats and Opportunities." In Globalization and Human Rights, pp.1-16.
Thachuk, K. (2005). Corruption and International Security. The John Hopkins University Press.
