Boom and bust? Political will and anti-corruption in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

When new governments come to power they often claim they will address corruption better than their predecessors. While policymakers and scholars recognise that interrogating these claims is important, few studies have analysed how anti-corruption commitments made by incoming governments change over time. This article addresses this gap in the literature by comparing anti-corruption allocations and spending—key indicators of political will—from two of Papua New Guinea's most recent governments: the Peter O'Neill-led government (2011–2019) and the government led by James Marape (2019 to present). Drawing on this analysis, we argue that policymakers need to monitor and respond to an anti-corruption funding cycle whereby new governments initially increase budgetary allocations but then, over time, reduce allocations and underpay and undermine anti-corruption organisations as accusations of corruption and frustration with anti-corruption efforts intensify.