|
The Center for the Study of Democracy was among the first non-governmental organizations in Bulgaria that focused on corruption in its research and public activities. As early as the second half of the 1990’s when corruption was generally viewed as a peripheral phenomenon inherited from the past, the Center initiated an annual sociological monitoring of corruption practices, implemented a number analyses aimed at carrying out of anti-corruption reforms and promoted a public private partnership platform for tackling corruption (Coalition 2000). In this way civil society for the first time identified problems related to the penetration of criminal groups, corrupt civil servants and politicians into state governance structures, and gave support to national and European institutions in the development and implementation of good governance policies. In this sense, the research focus of the Center in the area of corruption and its counteraction is part of the promotion of a new culture of transparency, accountability and civil oversight.
|