'A timely critique of a less than stellar era for development assistance. Johnson's work is an insightful blend of conceptual understanding and deep knowledge of the practical dilemmas faced by donors - who are almost never the solo actor on the battlefield. When real battles are going on alongside them, donor agencies face many challenges as one amongst many in the bureaucratic cage fight. This is an important contribution to the ongoing search for answers. The author's description of donor agencies as ''organised anarchies'' will have an authentic ring to many a member of the aid caste.' --Phil Mason OBE, Department for International Development, UK'Numerous societies have been targets for corruption-control and state-building efforts by aid agencies, often with dismal results. Jesper Johnson shows how those agendas diverge, and how both have been long on ideas yet short on implementation. Corruption fighters acknowledge that fragile situations - often the reasons for state-building - need carefully-tailored responses, but have yet to figure out what they entail. Johnson brings sound theory and extensive field research to those questions, producing essential insights into reform and stability in fragile situations.' --Michael Johnston, Colgate University

'Given how much international development agencies invest in anti-corruption programmes, and how often it features in donor strategies and policies, there is a shocking lack of research on how these programmes play out in recipient countries. Jesper Johnson's book fills an important gap, particularly with his focus on fragile states where getting anti-corruption programming right is vital for stability and security. Drawing on theories of bureaucracy, he argues that donors (and researchers) often blame using the wrong theories for programme design failure but failure can be explained much more by implementation challenges. Rather than constantly searching for the new anti-corruption 'magic key', by paying greater attention to context, avoiding bureaucratic competition and investing properly in staffing, donors - and citizens in fragile states - could see transformative governance improvements.' --Heather Marquette, University of Birmingham, UK