Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, August 10, 2015

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In our fifth case study on ideas that work to curb corruption, Gabriel Kuris tells the story of Croatia’s transformed anti-corruption agency.

Fadil Aliriza warns that Libya’s flawed peace deal may be worse than no peace deal.

Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez explains why the group picked by Venezuela’s government to monitor upcoming elections may not be up to the task.

Sarah Kendzior and Noah Tucker report on how Central Asians are using YouTube dashcam videos and other social media tools to expose corrupt cops and officials.

And finally, Till Bruckner reports on a new effort — led by an idealistic professor and funded by a wily Mauritanian politician — to clean up the international fishing industry.

And now for this week’s recommended reads:

Rachel Wagley of the National Bureau of Asian Research offers a primer on Burma’s upcoming election. In openDemocracy, Kathy Frankovic emphasizes the importance of public opinion polling ahead of the vote — and the need for the active participation of civil society.

In the Independent, Adam Withnall reports that Islamic State militants have executed over 300 staff members of Iraq’s electoral commission in a targeted assault.

The Global Anticorruption Blog features an interesting debate about the definition of corruption: Matthew Stephenson argues that too wide a definition deprives the term of meaning, while Richard Messick responds that there is no single definition. (Be sure to read the comments.)

Writing for Foreign Policy, Gaiutra Bahadur explains the contentious history behind the controversial May election in Guyana.

The BBC reports that several people have been arrested in Burundi in connection with the assassination of General Adolphe Nshimirimana.

In the Guardian, Mark Galeotti argues that the intrigues and leaks behind Boris Nemtsov’s murder in Russia offer hints of pluralism behind Putin’s throne. As organizations that promote democracy face growing restrictions in the country, Open Society Foundations releases a video commemorating its 30 years of work supporting the country’s civil society.

In the photo, people gather on April 7, 2015 at the site in central Moscow where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on February 27, 2015.
Photo credit: ALEXANDER UTKIN/AFP/Getty Images