Activating Public Sector Ethics in Transitional Societies

Public sector reform efforts to combat corruption in the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU) have, to date, focused heavily on control and compliance measures, such as the adoption of legal frameworks. Compliance-based approaches, however, are necessary but not sufficient. This article explores the potential of integrity-based approaches to ethical public service behavior, using examples from the public and private sectors. The critical success factors in realizing the promise of integrity in activating ethics in transitional societies are identified. In terms of leadership, they involve capitalizing on the call to public service, targeting and supporting moral leaders, and developing peer professional communities and networks. In regard to education, they mean offering objective and case-based ethics training. For development assessment, they require the introduction of an integrity lens to monitor public service reform and international anti-corruption conventions.