Corruption In Iraq

An anti-corruption protest in Iraq, one of the world's most corrupt countries . (Reuters: Jaafer Abed Sahab )

WNU Editor: An excellent written piece by William S. McCallister, Small Wars Journal. I have always been an advocate that one should examine how a nation's or people's culture can be manipulated to have an influence in assisting one's side in a wartime situation. In this essay, William McCallister examines how market behavior can be exploited as a form of irregular warfare.

Exploiting Market Behavior as a Form of Irregular Warfare
by William S. McCallister, Small Wars Journal

The term corruption, when used in a technical sense, is a general concept in which components of an organized and interdependent system are not performing the functions for which they were originally intended, or performing them improperly to the detriment of the system's original purpose. Its original meaning has connotations of being morally wrong in practice and principle. Corruption has evolved into an institution in Iraq. What has been described as a culture of corruption now serves a vital function in the distribution of scare resources. In a sense, corruption has been elevated to a form of irregular warfare as various groups compete for access to influence and limited resources. The study of corruption as a form of irregular warfare therefore will assist in developing suitable anti-corruption strategies and to communicate these strategies within the target audience’s cultural frame of reference.

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