A failure of governmentality: why Transparency International underestimated corruption in Ben Ali’s Tunisia

Hannes Baumann

doi:10.1080/01436597.2016.1153417

A failure of governmentality: why Transparency International underestimated corruption in Ben Ali’s Tunisia

Hannes Baumann^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Middle Eastern Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article critiques the Foucauldian approach to governance indicators. Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) underestimated Tunisian corruption levels under President Ben Ali: his regime was highly corrupt but foreign investors were less affected. CPI methodology meant it reflected primarily the needs of foreign investors. The Foucauldian approach specifically excludes analysis of governance indicators’ methodologies. It thus fails to demonstrate the effectiveness of governance indicators as a technology of government, and it fails to show how the production of the CPI is embedded in a wider global political economy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	Third World Quarterly
Early online date	16 Mar 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2016.1153417
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 16 Mar 2016

Keywords

corruption perception
global civil society
governance
governmentality
Transparency International
Tunisia

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/01436597.2016.1153417

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A failure of governmentality: why Transparency International underestimated corruption in Ben Ali’s Tunisia

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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