INSTILLING THE “HONESTY VACCINE”: SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS OF INTEGRITY FORMATION IN UZBEKISTAN

The article examines the socio-psychological and institutional factors that determine whether the “honesty vaccine”, first introduced in the President’s Address to the Oliy Majlis on 24 January 2020, can take hold in Uzbek society. Drawing on inoculation theory, social norms theory, social learning theory and new institutionalism, it argues that integrity cannot be instilled by moral appeals alone: it forms where internalised values, supportive social norms and credible institutions reinforce one another. A five-stage model of “vaccine absorption” – awareness, acceptance, internalisation, behaviour and norm consolidation – is proposed. Family upbringing, moral traditions, perceived norms, trust and exemplary leadership are analysed as socio psychological factors, while the legal framework, the Anti-Corruption Agency, integrity education, merit-based civil service, digitalisation and consistent enforcement are analysed as institutional ones. Lessons are drawn from Hong Kong, Singapore, Georgia, Korea and Estonia.