Generating Leadership Through Anti-Corruption Social Movement: The Case of Transparency International Bangladesh

Abstract

The lack of true leadership in developing nations has been identified as one of the major hindrances towards their progress. This issue of improper leadership has been long prevailing but the search for innovative and alternative ways is rather new. The focus of this paper is on social movements as incidences which have a close relationship with leadership - in most cases creating new leaders. This research aims to investigate the influence of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in engendering leadership among the underutilized population resources of the country. As development organization in Bangladesh, TIB strives to create a social movement against corruption by engaging and empowering the individuals within the society. In addition to reviewing existing literature and documents, the study uses primary data collected through interviews with different stakeholders of TIB and a public survey in 60 places of Bangladesh. In the process of creating an anti-corruption demand in the country, the participants in the social movement are supported by TIB and inspired with the qualities of a good leader, including sacrifice, integrity, generosity and modesty. Along with other population groups, the TIB case study identifies positive changes specifically in two groups - women and the youth.Given that women remain in a more vulnerable position in Bangladesh, the study reveals that with the movement they distinctly develop organisational, motivational and reliability skills that help them lead the campaign against corruption. While there remains a scarcity of proper guidelines and anti-corruption activities in the Bangladeshi society, such movements inspire the youth to think beyond their own benefits and take responsibilities for the future of the nation. Mainstreaming these two groups in the leadership quest is particularly important as they represent a significant portion of the population and no development process can be effective and long lasting without their active participation. The paper also analyses some gaps, especially the absence of proper orientation and lack of follow-up programs in the current TIB strategies. It concludes with recommendations for a more comprehensive way of engaging women and the youth in the campaign for alternative leadership.