Many anti-corruption initiatives disseminate messages about corruption and its harms but how can these messages be framed to ensure they are effective? To explore this and related questions Caryn Peiffer (Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Bristol) and Nic Cheeseman (Professor of Democracy and International Development at the University of Birmingham) join us on the podcast to discuss their research. They share research findings which challenge some of the assumptions...

The U.S. Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) is a groundbreaking piece of anti-corruption legislation which makes it a crime for any foreign official to demand or accept a bribe from an American or American company, or from any person while in the territory of the United States. Our two guests, Tom Firestone, Partner at Squire, Patton and Boggs, and Scott Greytak, Director of Advocacy at Transparency International US, played a critical role in getting the act into law. In the episode,...

This episode unpacks the problem of sexual corruption and how to design effective policy responses to it. Our two guests are Associate Professor of Public Policy, Anna Petherick, who is based at the Blavatnik School of Government, University Oxford, and is also the Director of the Lemann Foundation Programme at the school, and Dr. Ortrun Merkle, Research Fellow at United Nations University-Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute. Anna and Ortrun are specialists in this topic and...

Professor Lucio Picci (University of Bologna) speaks to Professor Liz Dávid-Barrett (Centre for the Study of Corruption) about his recent work on rethinking the current anti-corruption paradigm. Lucio argues for the field to pay more attention to potential 'side effects' from anti-corruption discourse, particularly when this agenda is hijacked by populists to support political goals. Lucio uses cases from Brazil, Russia and the United States to illustrate his points. The conversation also...

Emmanuel Mathias, Head of the Governance and Anti-Corruption Division at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), speaks to Prof. Liz Dávid-Barrett (Centre for the Study of Corruption). He discusses the main pillars of the IMF's 2018 Framework for Enhanced Engagement on Governance, providing insights on how the fund approaches its anti-corruption work. The framework can be found here:...

In this latest chapter on state capture, Ketakandriana Rafitoson (Vice-Chair, Transparency International; Executive Director of Transparency International Initiative Madagascar) outlines how this problem manifests in Madagascar and the harms caused. She speaks to Tom Shipley (Researcher, Centre for the Study of Corruption) about how state capture has unfolded in key sectors, including in the exploitation of natural resources, and the role that international firms and states have played....

John Penrose MP, the former UK government Anti-Corruption Champion (2017 - 2022), joins us for this episode. He speaks to Professor Robert Barrington (Centre for the Study of Corruption) about the lessons learnt from his time in the role. This includes taking us behind the scenes to understand what the role of the government Anti-Corruption Champion entails. John also discusses the major developments and drivers behind UK anti-corruption policy during this period as well as some of the key...

The journalist Tom Burgis speaks to Prof. Liz Dávid-Barrett about his work investigating corruption across different continents. Tom talks about he got into journalism and what goes into researching these books. His books cover what Tom calls the rise of kleptocracy since the end of the Cold War. The latest - Cuckooland - grapples with some of the challenges for journalists in scrutinising public figures in a 'post-truth' society.

Richard Nephew, the US Department of State's Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption, speaks to Liz Dávid-Barrett (Centre for the Study of Corruption) about the US strategy on countering corruption. The episode explores some of the aims and practicalities involved in implementing different pillars of the strategy, including attempts to strengthen the multilateral anti-corruption architecture. Richard and Liz also talk about the key outcomes to emerge from the recent UN Conference of the States...

In this episode Gretta Fenner (Managing Director, Basel Institute on Governance) and Daniel Eriksson (CEO, Transparency International) talk to Liz Dávid-Barrett (Centre for the Study of Corruption) about the links between corruption and national security issues. The episode follows from the Munich Security Conference where Daniel and Gretta raised the issue of corruption as a key policy concern. The group discuss the new global context of heightened insecurity and the implications this has...

Alison Taylor, Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern School of Business, speaks to Prof. Dan Hough (Centre for the Study of Corruption) on the topic of business ethics. Alison talks about her early career investigating corruption by businesses before she moved into the broader space of corporate responsibility and business ethics. Alison describes the impact of international anti-bribery laws on businesses but also raises some questions about the corporate compliance regimes these laws...

In this episode, Liz Dávid-Barrett, Becky Dobson-Phillips and Dan Hough (all Centre for the Study of Corruption) talk through some of the key considerations involved in defining corruption. They begin by discussing the strengths and limitations of the mainstream public office centred definition of corruption developed by Joseph S Nye (see below). Becky then introduces a new conceptual framework for defining corruption in context. This covers different dimensions to corruption, including...

Continuing our chapter on kleptocracy and state capture, this episode features Sankhitha Gunaratne, Deputy Executive Director of Transparency International Sri Lanka. She speaks to Liz David-Barrett (Centre for the Study of Corruption) about TI's work to combat state capture in the country. The recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka has laid bare the extent to which kleptocratic actors have captured key pillars of the state. Sankhitha describes the different tactics used, including the...

Daniel Freund is a Member of the European Parliament and former Head of Advocacy for European Union Integrity at Transparency International. In this episode he speaks to Prof. Dan Hough about the different dimensions to the EU's fight against corruption. The discussion starts with the struggle to protect EU institutions from undue influence, a problem illustrated by Qatargate, a lobbying scandal Daniel describes as the "tip of the iceberg". Daniel also discusses challenges in building...

Dr. Andreas Bågenholm (University of Gothenburg) and Dr. Rekha Diwakar (University of Sussex) join Prof. Dan Hough to discuss anti-corruption political parties. These parties have proliferated in different parts of the world in the last two decades. Andreas and Rekha draw on their research in Europe and India respectively to talk about where these parties come from and what they stand for. The group then look at how these parties have actually performed when they have entered into government,...

In this episode Professor Dan Hough (Centre for the Study of Corruption) speaks to Professor Robert Klitgaard (Claremont Graduate University). Robert is a well-known and influential academic in the corruption field. He talks us through the origins of his ideas in applying institutional economic theory to understanding corruption issues, as originally set out in Controlling Corruption (1988). Robert then discusses other research interests and influences, including the anthropological...

In episode 102 Robert Barrington (Centre for the Study of Corruption), Guy Beringer KC (Hon) (Chair of the Taskforce on Business Ethics and the Legal Profession), Liz Dávid-Barrett (Centre for the Study of Corruption) and Tena Prelec (University of Rijeka) discuss the topic of so-called 'professional enablers'. Distinguishing between legal and illegal functions, the group discuss the types of activities related to corruption that the term might (and might not) encompass. They provide plenty...

Leading academics from the Centre for the Study of Corruption sit down to discuss what we learnt from Episode 100. The anniversary episode featured insights on the state of anti-corruption practice from some of the leading global thinkers in the field. Here, Robert Barrington, Liz Dávid-Barrett, Dan Hough and Sam Power debate some of the key questions raised, including: To what extent we should be optimistic about the future for anti-corruption work? What is the proper place for corruption...

For this special anniversary episode, Kickback invited leading thinkers from around the globe to comment on the state of practice in the corruption field. We asked each individual to respond to one of two questions: a) ​'what is one thing about corruption that you've changed your thinking on in the past 10 years?' b) 'what is the most significant development - positive or negative - in relation to corruption and corruption studies over the past thirty years?' We got some fascinating...

Huma Yusuf speaks to Tom Shipley about the links between business integrity and environmental, social and governance (ESG). Huma is Director of Business Integrity at British International Investment, an impact investor, and a key public commentator on climate change in Pakistan. In this podcast, Huma describes how anti-corruption and business integrity fit into the global business agenda on ESG, breaking down some of the key concepts and debates in this area. She also talks about working with...

This is the second episode of the 'Introduction to' series in which experts provide an overview of some of the key issues in the corruption field. In this episode Liz Dávid-Barrett, Dan Hough and Sam Power (all Centre for the Study of Corruption) discuss the leading theories for corruption analysis, including rational choice, collective action and social norms approaches. This is a valuable overview for researchers new to these topics. Further links to Kickback episodes with some of the...

Michela Wrong, journalist and author of It's Our Turn to Eat, speaks to Dr. Sam Power, Senior Lecturer in Politics at the Centre for the Study of Corruption. Named as the top book on corruption by The Guardian in 2023, It's Our Turn to Eat tells the story of John Githongo, the Kenyan activist and whistleblower interviewed in Episode 96. Michela talks to Sam about the issues raised in the book as well as her other writing including Do Not Disturb, her latest book on the abuse of power by the...

The Kenyan anti-corruption campaigner and activist, John Githongo, speaks to Liz Dávid-Barrett (Centre for the Study of Corruption). The episode covers key moments in John's career including his involvement in the formation of Transparency International and time spent as Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics in the Kenyan government in the early 2000s. John and Liz further discuss what lessons can be taken from Kenya's fight against corruption and the particularly the role of...

Dr. Magnus Öhman, senior political finance adviser at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, speaks to the Kickback team. Magnus discusses the challenges of corruption and political trust against the wider global context of increased democratic backsliding. There is specific focus on approaches to tackling the problem of illicit finance in politics, including the potential of artificial intelligence for improving transparency.