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TNRC Publication

Building accountable resource governance institutions

19 December 2019
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Building accountable resource governance institutions

Main points

  • Institutions that govern natural resource management and use, including both rules and brick-and-mortar agencies, are frequent targets for corrupt actors because of the high values involved.
  • The drivers of individual actions and institutional performance may be shaped as much by informal norms as by formal rules.
  • Natural resource governance institutions can also act as bulwarks against corruption, but reformers should avoid “one-size-fits-all” solutions and pay attention to the risks of elite capture and good governance façades.
  • Anti-corruption initiatives in natural resource governance institutions should explicitly integrate an assumption that corrupt actors will push back and should be based on careful analysis of the factors and actors that drive and facilitate corruption in the sector and institutions of interest.

Cite this publication


Williams, A. (2019) Building accountable resource governance institutions. Bergen: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute (TNRC Publication December 2019)

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About the author

Aled Williams is a political scientist and senior researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute and a principal adviser at the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre. He is responsible for U4's thematic work on corruption in natural resources and energy, and holds a PhD from SOAS, University of London, on political ecology of REDD+ in Indonesia.

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