01389nas a2200133   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260001600043100001800059245006900077300001000146490000600156520109300162       2010                            d  cSummer 20101 aTodor Tagarev00aEnabling Factors and Effects of Corruption in the Defense Sector  a77-880 v93 a<p>Corruption is a curse of modern societies, and the defense sector is just as susceptible to corruption as any other. As this essay will argue, a number of defense-specific factors, such as secrecy, urgency, and populist causes, facilitate corruption. Unchecked corruption impacts the operational effectiveness of the armed forces, the military’s standing in society, the level of respect that international partners have for a given nation’s military, the security of the citizens and, in its extreme manifestation, may threaten the democratic governance mechanisms and even the foundations of modern states. NATO has launched a “building integrity” initiative to address the problem of corruption in defense and in military operations that envisions systematic efforts to build integrity, increase transparency, and improve accountability of defense establishments. NATO currently pursues several practical activities that will be discussed in this essay, along with more detail on the compendium of best practices in building integrity and reducing corruption in defense.</p>