Abstract
The USA vigorously enforces its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), increasingly on an extraterritorial basis. The application of the FCPA to persons and circumstances outside the territory of the US shapes international anti-corruption efforts in ways that may run counter to effective governance practices and meaningful anti-corruption reform in the global economy. This short essay explores three aspects of FCPA enforcement which detract from the broader goals of global anti-corruption governance: the narrow conception of corruption upon which the FCPA is based, the strategic trade frame which underlies the FCPA’s internationalization, and the legitimacy problems these raise.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashcroft, J., and J. Ratcliffe. 2012. The Recent and Unusual Evolution of an Expanding FCPA. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy 26: 25–38.
Ashe, D.P. 2005. The Lengthening Anti-Bribery Lasso of the United States: The Recent Extraterritorial Application of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Fordham Law Review 73: 2897–2945.
Avant, D.D., M. Finnemore, and S.K. Sell (eds.). 2010. Who Governs the Globe? Cambridge Studies in International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bartle, S., C. Chamberlain, and B. Wohlberg. 2014. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. American Criminal Law Review 51: 1265–1313.
Bernstein, S. 2011. Legitimacy in Intergovernmental and Non-state Global Governance. Review of International Political Economy 18: 17–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290903173087.
Brassett, J., and E. Tsingou. 2011. The Politics of Legitimate Global Governance. Review of International Political Economy 18: 1–16.
Bright, C. 2013. The Implications of the Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Case for the Exercise of Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. ID 2364707). Social Science Research Network, Rochester, NY.
Busch, M.L. 1999. Trade Warriors: States, Firms, and Strategic Trade Policy in High-Technology Competition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Casino, B.J., and S. Maberry. 2013. FCPA, Due Process, and Jurisdictional Overreach by the DOJ and SEC. Criminal Litigation 13: 5–10.
Chaffee, E.C. 2013. From Legalized Business Ethics to International Trade Regulation: The Role of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Other Transnational Anti-Bribery Regulations in Fighting Corruption in International Trade. Mercer Law Review 65: 701.
Cooley, A., and J. Sharman. 2013. The Price of Access: Transnational Corruption Networks in Central Asia and Beyond. In Annual Convention of the International Studies Association. Presented at the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, San Francisco, CA.
Davis, K., A. Fisher, B. Kingsbury, and S.E. Merry (eds.). 2012. Governance by Indicators: Global Power Through Classification and Rankings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Deming, S. 2011. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the New International Norms. 2nd ed. Chicago: American Bar Association.
DOJ. 2014. FCPA and Related Enforcement Actions [WWW Document]. U.S. Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa/cases/a.html. Accessed 3 February 2014.
Dunoff, J.L., and J.P. Trachtman. 2009. Ruling the World? Constitutionalism, International Law, and Global Governance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Elliott, K.A. (ed.). 1996. Corruption and the Global Economy. Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics.
Garrett, L. 2007. The Challenge of Global Health. Foreign Affairs 86: 14.
Gutterman, E. 2014. The Legitimacy of Transnational NGOs: Lessons from the Experience of Transparency International in Germany and France. Review of International Studies 40: 391–418. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210513000363.
Gutterman, E. 2015. Easier Done Than Said: Transnational Bribery, Norm Resonance, and the Origins of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Foreign Policy Analysis 11: 109–128. https://doi.org/10.1111/fpa.12027.
Gutterman, E. 2016a. Corruption in the Global Economy. In International Political Economy, ed. G. Anderson and C.J. Kukucha, 456–475. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Gutterman, E. 2016b. Banning Bribes Abroad: U.S. Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Osgoode Hall Law Journal 53: 1–19.
Hall, R.B., and T.J. Biersteker (eds.). 2002. The Emergence of Private Authority in Global Governance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Heilbrunn, J.R. 2005. Oil and Water? Elite Politicians and Corruption in France. Comparative Politics 37: 277–296. https://doi.org/10.2307/20072890.
Holt, R. 2012. Beyond the Tribe: Patron-Client Relations, Neopatrimonialism in Afghanistan. Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin 38: 27–31.
Isaacson, K. 2014. Minimizing the Menace of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. University of Illinois Law Review 2014: 597.
Jakobi, A.P. 2013. Common Goods and Evils? The Formation of Global Crime Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kaczmarek, S.C., and A.L. Newman. 2011. The Long Arm of the Law: Extraterritoriality and the National Implementation of Foreign Bribery Legislation. International Organizations 65: 745–770.
Khan, M.H. 1998. Patron—Client Networks and the Economic Effects of Corruption in Asia. European Journal of Development Research 10: 15–39.
Kingsbury, B., N. Krisch, and R. Stewart. 2005. The Emergence of Global Administrative Law. Law and Contemporary Problems 68: 15–62.
Koehler, M. 2013a. Total Agrees To Pay $398 Million To Resolve Its FCPA Scrutiny. FCPA Professor. http://fcpaprofessor.com/total-agrees-to-pay-398-million-to-resolve-its-fcpa-scrutiny/.
Koehler, M. 2013b. “Total”ly Milking The FCPA Cash Cow? FCPA Professor. http://fcpaprofessor.com/totally-milking-the-fcpa-cash-cow/.
Koehler, M. 2014. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a New Era. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Koehler, M. 2016. FCPA Professor: All About Panalpina. http://fcpaprofessor.com/all-about-panalpina/.
Krugman, P.R., and A. Smith. 1994. Empirical Studies of Strategic Trade Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Löwenheim, O. 2008. Examining the State: A Foucauldian Perspective on International “Governance Indicators”. Third World Quarterly 29: 255–274.
Milliet-Einbinder, M. 2001. Writing Off Tax Deductibility. OECD Observer, May 26. http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/245. Print. May 21.
Naím, M. 1995. Corruption Eruption. Brown Journal of World Affairs 2: 245–261.
Noonan, J.T. 1984. Bribes. New York: Macmillan.
OECD. 2011. Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and Related Documents. http://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/ConvCombatBribery_ENG.pdf.
Perlis, M.F., and W.E. Chais. 2009. Investigating The FCPA [WWW Document]. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/08/foreign-corrupt-practices-act-opinions-contributors-michael-perlis-wrenn-chais.html. Accessed 25 March 14.
Podgor, E. 2011. Monday Morning Rant. White Collar Crime Prof Blog. http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/2011/11/monday-morning-rant.html#comments.
Prager, L. 2012. FCPA Compliance: Don’t Blow Your Budget Just Yet [WWW Document]. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/insider/2012/03/27/fcpa-compliance-dont-blow-your-budget-just-yet/. Accessed 25 March 14.
Putnam, T.L. 2009. Courts Without Borders: Domestic Sources of U.S. Extraterritoriality in the Regulatory Sphere. International Organizations 63: 459–490.
Raustiala, K. 2009. Does the Constitution Follow the Flag? The Evolution of Territoriality in American Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rose-Ackerman, S. 2013. International anti-Corruption Policies and the U.S. National Interest. American Society of International Law 107: 254.
Ross, L.A. 2012. Using Foreign Relations Law to Limit Extraterritorial Application of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Duke Law Journal 62: 445.
Schubert, S., and T.C. Miller. 2008. At Siemens, Bribery Was Just a Line Item. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/worldbusiness/21siemens.html. Accessed 22 July 2013.
Stephan, P., 2013. The Political Economy of Extraterritoriality. Politics and Governance 1: 92–101. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/10.12924/pag2013.01010092.
Sullivan, R.J. 2013. SEC vs. Elek Straub et al. (Decision on Motion to Dismiss) US District Court Southern District of New York. 11 Civ. 9645 (RJS). Feb. 8. http://fcpa.stanford.edu/fcpac/documents/3000/002033.pdf. Accessed 6 February 2016.
Thomas, C.C. 2009. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: A Decade of Rapid Expansion Explained, Defended, and Justified. The Review of Litigation 29: 439–470.
Transparency International. 2013. Bribe Payers Index: Overview [WWW Document]. Transparency International - The Global Anti-Corruption Coalition. http://www.transparency.org/research/bpi/overview. Accessed 12 August 2013.
Transparency International, 2018. What is Corruption? [WWW Document]. Transparency International - The Global Anti-Corruption Coalition. https://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption. Accessed 16 March 2018.
Urofsky, P. ed. 2014. FCPA Digest of Cases and Review Releases Relating to Bribes to Foreign Officials under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. Shearman & Sterling LLP. https://www.shearman.com/~/media/Files/Services/FCPA/2014/January_2014_FCPA_DigestFCPA010614.pdf.
US Congress. 2002. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?packageId=BILLS-107hr3763enr.
U.S. Department of Justice. 2008. Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines: Coordinated Enforcement Actions by DOJ, SEC and German Authorities Result in Penalties of $1.6 Billion [WWW Document]. WWW.USDOJ.GOV. http://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/December/08-crm-1105.html. Accessed 16 March 2018
U.S. Department of Justice. 2010. BAE Systems PLC Pleads Guilty and Ordered to Pay $400 Million Criminal Fine [WWW Document]. Justice News. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/bae-systems-plc-pleads-guilty-and-ordered-pay-400-million-criminal-fine. Accessed 16 March 2018.
U.S. DOJ, C.D., U.S. SEC, E.D. 2012. FCPA: A resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-resource-guide.pdf. Accessed 15 December 2014.
U.S. SEC. 2014. SEC Enforcement Actions: FCPA Cases [WWW Document]. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/fcpa/fcpa-cases.shtml. Accessed 15 December 2014.
Vardi, N. 2010. The Bribery Racket. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/global/2010/0607/companies-payoffs-washington-extortion-mendelsohn-bribery-racket.html#1ba3a7f91b5a. Accessed 20 March 2014.
Walzenbach, G.P.E. 1998. Co-ordination in Context: Institutional Choices to Promote Exports. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Weissmann, J. 2012. The Corruption Law That Scares the Bejesus Out of Corporate America [WWW Document]. The Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/the-corruption-law-that-scares-the-bejesus-out-of-corporate-america/256314/#. Accessed 13 September 13.
Wilson, N.N. 2014. Pushing the Limits of Jurisdiction Over Foreign Actors Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Washington University Law Review 91: 1063.
Wirz, S. 2013. Private Settlements, Public Concerns: Judicial Scrutiny of Deferred Prosecution Agreements. Annapolis: TRACE International.
Zhan, J. 2012. Filling the Gap of Formal Institutions: The Effects of Guanxi Network on Corruption in Reform-Era China. Crime, Law and Social Change 58: 93–109.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gutterman, E. Banning Bribes Abroad: US Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and its impact on the global governance of corruption. Eur Polit Sci 18, 205–216 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-018-0153-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-018-0153-z