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.

Grant Walton, Associate Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy (Australian National University, speaks to Dan Hough about his research on corruption in Papua New Guinea (PNG). A key focus for Grant has been to explore what people understand by corruption in PNG and how this compares to Western understandings of the term. The disconnection between the two has implications for how we approach messaging on countering corruption which risks being ineffective or even backfiring if it...

Professor Dan Hough (University of Sussex), Professor Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett (University of Sussex/ International Anti-Corruption Academy) and Dr. Roxana Bratu (King's College London) provide an introduction to corruption measurement debates. They explore questions like: How has measurement of corruption changed over the three decades? What are the best tools currently available for measuring corruption? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these tools? What are 'proxy indicators'...

Andrew Wedeman, Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University, speaks to Professor Dan Hough about the politics of anti-corruption campaigns in China. Andrew analyses the anti-corruption campaign instigated by President Xi Jinping and also puts this into historical perspective. Andrew and Dan discuss the effects this campaign has had on Chinese society at all levels and whether there really is any evidence of progress in controlling corruption in the country. Andrew additionally...

Cheri-Leigh Erasmus, Global Director of Learning at the Accountability Lab, speaks to Dan Hough, Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Corruption. She describes Accountability Lab's distinctive approach to building integrity in the civil service with examples from across the globe. She shares some lessons from this work and offers plenty of ideas for how to engage new audiences in anti-corruption work. You can see more on the work of Accountability Lab here,...

Claudia Baez Camargo, Head of Public Governance at the Basel Institute, talks to Liz Dávid-Barrett about her work on applying social norms theory to analysing corruption issues. The episode takes in examples of applied research in East Africa and Ukraine, while Claudia's thinking on corruption is also influenced by her upbringing in Mexico. Claudia describes some successes in altering social norms around corruption in health settings but equally some of the challenges in sustaining these...

This episode features Cecilia Müller Torbrand, CEO of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN). She speaks to Liz Dávid-Barrett about the work of MACN, a network of shipping businesses which has been making some real headway in reducing corruption risks in this sector. The MACN story offers lots of valuable lessons for researchers and practitioners. Cecilia talks about how MACN has succeeded in framing its messaging around trade and commerce to engage government and the private sector in...

Luís de Sousa, deputy director and research fellow at ICS-ULisboa, speaks to Robert Barrington, professor of anti-corruption practice at the Centre for the Study of Corruption, on a range of topics. Luís is well-known for his research on anti-corruption agencies and in the episode he discusses country cases and conditions for success. This is also the first Kickback episode to discuss Portugal in depth. Lessons from Portugal on the politicization of anti-corruption measures, the role of...

In this episode recorded on the margins of the International Anti-Corruption Conference, Paul Massaro, senior policy advisor for the U.S. Helsinki Commission, speaks to Liz Dávid-Barrett. Paul discusses the drivers behind the Enablers Act and the role of the US in countering kleptocracy. The conversation also covers the effectiveness of international sanctions on corruption and the importance of counter-kleptocracy work to ending the war in Ukraine.