The range of anti-corruption instruments and conventions today are a reflection of an international consensus that emerged in the early 1990s. It identified corruption as an important problem needing to be addressed, and in particular requiring internationally agreed solutions.

The consensus was born from a number of factors. The end of the Cold War removed the national security rationale for tolerating and supporting corrupt regimes around the world. At the same time, the post-Cold War agenda of democratisation, accountability and transparency focused the attention of major international financial and development institutions and others on the problem of corruption.

Moreover, there was concern that the corruption problem was growing. Some researchers claimed that the worldwide trend to privatise and deregulate state industries has spawned a wave of new corruption opportunities. Other researchers suggested that the reduction in trade barriers in the 1980s and 90s produced not only increased market access but also increased competition among multinational companies and - as a by-product - increased corruption in a number of important sectors.

Added to this, multinational companies based in the United States considered themselves disadvantaged in global markets due to the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which imposed criminal penalties for engaging in foreign bribery. Seeing its companies undercut by those who could engage in illegal handouts, the US government became a leading advocate for the creation of international standards to limit cross-border bribery.