In Transparency International we define corruption as the abuse of public power to achieve private ends. In those environments without a strong base of public ethics, and where the authorities are not subject to control and accountability systems, incentives and spaces are created to commit acts of corruption.
Therefore, fighting against this has to do with controlling the power and forcing public values.
The best recipe for this is a holistic approach that includes the promotion, evaluation and strengthening of what is called the National Integrity System.
The National Integrity System are all those institutions and practices that work in an interrelated way in a country to protect society from corruption. If the system depends on one or a few institutions, such as the figure of a dictator, it will be weak and run the risk of collapsing. To establish a National Integrity System we must think about horizontal accountability; where power is distributed, no single actor holds a monopoly and everyone is individually responsible.
Corruption exists in all societies. Some have a well-developed National Integrity System and therefore, with the ability to react to corruption cases with appropriate measures and sanctions. In other societies, those with weak and politicized institutions and with barely separation of powers, one can speak of endemic corruption, in many cases this is combined with very strong and closed elites and a chronic lack of access to public information, which hinders the possibilities of power control.
In short, corruption does not have a single origin, therefore it is a multidimensional problem in the world.