As a continuation on our series about Ukraine, we welcome Igor logvinenko, an associate professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College.

(01:14) - Igor’s background and his book, “Global Finance, Local Control: Corruption and Wealth in Contemporary Russia”
(06:51) - Russia’s historical corruption and current financial integration into world business.
(15:20) - The mark of change in a stabilised regime, British Petroleum existing Russian investments
(18:15) - The impact of current sanctions, freezing Russia’s Central Bank, action by private companies: Ikea
(25:07) - The use of targeted individual sanctions and asset seizures and their appropriateness as anticorruption tool. The Magnitsky Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnitsky_Act) 
(33:29) - The American financial system and the openness of western economies. Igor’s work with Casey Michel (listen to episode 66 of Kickback to hear from Casey)
(49:40) - Looking ahead: the offshore jurisdiction of the U.S., the fundamental structure o the global financial system, and structural changes driven by local populations

72. Igor Logvinenko on corruption and the current sanctions in Russia

This episode from the margins of the International Anti-Corruption Conference in Washington DC features Shannon Green, Executive Director of USAID's Anti-Corruption Task Force. Shannon talks to Liz Dávid-Barrett about the agency's new anti-corruption strategy. They also focus on the challenge of fighting kleptocracies and USAID's new dekleptification guide.

Here are links to the resources discussed

USAID anti-corruption strategy: https://www.usaid.gov/anti-corruption/policy

USAID dekleptification guide: https://www.usaid.gov/anti-corruption/dekleptification

85. Shannon Green on USAID's approach to anti-corruption and dekleptification

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 leading theorists referenced are provided below.

Susan Rose-Ackerman on the principal-agent theory of corruption, https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/1-episode-susan-rose-ackerman

Bo Rothstein on corruption as a collective action problem: https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/5-episode-bo-rothstein

Diana Chigas and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church on social norms: https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/49-diana-chigas-and-cheyanne-scharbatke-church-on-social-norms-approaches-to-anti-corruption

https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/49-diana-chigas-and-cheyanne-scharbatke-church-on-social-norms-approaches-to-anti-corruption

And for the first 'introduction to' episode on corruption measurement, see: https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/93-introduction-to-corruption-measurement-debates

98. Introduction to Corruption Theory

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 responses. Take the time to listen to them all in or jump to an individual's comments from the links below. Here are our esteemed contributors:

Michael Johnston (2.34) - https://on.soundcloud.com/EM7ED 
Leena Koni Hoffmann (7.52) - https://on.soundcloud.com/HbLSy
Alina Mungiu-Pippidi (10.24) - https://on.soundcloud.com/RXYf2
Paul Heywood (12.51) - https://on.soundcloud.com/dA5Hg
Florencia Guerzovich (15.40) - https://on.soundcloud.com/6sbPW
Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez (18.16) - https://on.soundcloud.com/Q54rJ
Jorge Alatorre (21.36) - https://on.soundcloud.com/yk8qf
Delia Ferreira Rubio (23.33) - https://on.soundcloud.com/ojHVn
Matthew Stephenson (26.55) - https://on.soundcloud.com/AwQ1Z
Susan Rose-Ackerman (29.43) - https://on.soundcloud.com/9H4m3
John Githongo (32.15) - https://on.soundcloud.com/fzfjn
Jon Quah (33.34) - https://on.soundcloud.com/mdSgr
Laode Muhammad Syarif (36.12) - https://on.soundcloud.com/gu2mC

To see categories of past episodes, go to our playlists page - https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/sets

100. The state of practice in the corruption field: insights from leading global thinkers

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 notable contemporary manifestations.

Aimed at students new to the study of corruption, this is the latest in Kickback's series providing introductions to important debates in the corruption field. Similar episodes on corruption theory (Episode 98) and corruption measurement (Episode 93) can be found in the tracklist.  

A link to the paper discussed can be found here: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=csc-wp-series-dobson-et-al-defining-corruption-final.pdf&site=405

For reference, the Nye definition of corruption is as follows

“Behaviour which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private regarding (personal, close family, private clique) pecuniary or status gains; or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private-regarding influence.” (Nye 1967)

107. Introduction to defining corruption

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 for those working to counter corruption. 

Liz also asks Daniel and Gretta about "strategic corruption", defined in the US Strategy on Countering Corruption as "when a government weaponizes corrupt practices as a tenet of its foreign policy". This is a term which has gained significant policy attention. It however raises questions as to whether using the term involves anti-corruption campaigners "picking sides" in this new context of global insecurity  .

109. The links between corruption and national security issues

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. Ketakandriana also describes the innovative approaches civil society have taken to fighting back against networks of corrupt actors. 

Further information on the case in the lychee sector mentioned by Ketakandriana can be found here, https://www.transparency.mg/telechargements/assainir-la-gouvernance-de-la-filiere-litchi-afin-den-exploiter-pleinement-le-potentiel/

The report on international enablers, 'loophole masters' can be found here, https://www.transparency.org/en/publications/loophole-masters

113. Ketakandriana Rafitoson on state capture In Madagascar and its international linkages

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: 

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2018/04/20/pp030918-review-of-1997-guidance-note-on-governance

And the review discussed by Emmanuel can be found here:

https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2023/04/11/Review-of-Implementation-of-The-2018-Framework-for-Enhanced-Fund-Engagement-on-Governance-532166?cid=pr-com-PPEA2023015

114. Emmanuel Mathias on the IMF's approach to anti-corruption

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 takes in Lucio's early work on measurement, including bribery by firms and corruption at subnational level. 

Here is a link to Lucio's new book: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rethinking-corruption/7556EA509B03B16334D5962113889FF6

And the article discussed on corruption in the management of public works authored with Miriam Golden: https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/1845422422.00026.xml

115. Lucio Picci on the need to rethink the current anti-corruption paradigm

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 also work on the broader theme of gender and corruption. They talk through how the literature has evolved over the last two decades and particularly debates on conceptualizing the problem of sexual corruption. Both also provide useful guidance on how to research these extremely sensitive issues and offer their thoughts on the policy responses available.

Here are some links to writing on this topic by Anna, Ortrun and others if you are looking for further reading.

The Chandler Papers: Sexual Corruption, (by Anna, Monika Bauhr and Bolaji Owasanoye) -https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/publications/chandler-papers-sexual-corruption

A gender perspective on corruption encountered during forced and irregular migration (by Ortrun, Julia Reinold and Melissa Siegel) - https://www.giz.de/de/downloads/giz2017_eng_Gender-perspective-on-corruption-encountered-during-migration.pdf

Sexual corruption is abuse of power  - and there's more to it than 'sextortion' alone (by Elin Bjarnegård, Dolores Calvo, Åsa Eldén and Silje Lundgren) - https://www.u4.no/blog/sexual-corruption-is-abuse-of-power-and-theres-more-to-it-than-sextortion-alone

Bribe to survive: sextortion and LGBTQ discrimination (by Victoria Abut) - https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2022/06/13/bribe-to-survive-sextortion-and-lgbtq-discrimination/

116. Understanding the problem of sexual corruption and how best to respond

Dan Hough, Prof. of Politics at the University of Sussex, and founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption, discusses his new book Foul Play: Tackling Football’s Integrity Problem. Dan builds on analytical frameworks from the corruption and governance fields to analyse the integrity challenges facing the beautiful game, on and off the pitch. Dan examines football as an important social institution and makes connections to broader debates about how to encourage integrity. 

You can find Dan's new book here: https://agendapub.com/page/detail/foul-play/?k=9781788217637

120. Dan Hough on football's integrity challenges

This week, Dr. Florencia Guerzovich, Independent Researcher and Evaluator, and Tom Shipley, Research Fellow for the Governance & Integrity, Anti-Corruption Evidence programme at the CSC, explore whether the corruption field has a learning problem. Against the backdrop of debates around 'success' and 'failure' in anti-corruption, they talk to Professor Robert Barrington about approaches to Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL). The discussion covers the basics of what MEL is and the role it has to play in building knowledge on anti-corruption effectiveness; the current state of practice for MEL; what can be learnt from other sectors; and what changes might be needed to shift towards more adaptable, learning-focused approaches.  
     
Find Tom’s paper on this topic for U4 here: https://www.u4.no/publications/evaluating-anti-corruption-interventions-the-state-of-practice
And the paper discussed by Florencia on social accountability here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4606929

This research is part of the Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) programme which generates actionable evidence that policymakers, practitioners and advocates can use to design and implement more effective anti-corruption initiatives. This GI ACE project is funded by UK International Development. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.

122. Florencia Guerzovich and Tom Shipley: Does the corruption field have a learning problem?

This week Liz David-Barrett is joined by expert researchers Monika Bauhr and Marcia Grimes from the Quality of Government Institute, where they conduct and promote research on the causes, consequences and nature of Good Governance. 
This episode addresses the multifaceted nature of corruption and the challenges of promoting accountability in democratic systems. Monika and Marcia cover a range of topics, including the implications of transparency as an accountability mechanism, the role of elites in maintaining the status quo, and the relationship between women's representation and corruption reduction. 
The discussion acknowledges the challenges in measuring corruption, while highlighting innovative methodological approaches that challenge simplistic assumptions, to better understand the dynamics between democracy and corruption. 

Learn more about the Quality of Government Institute here: https://www.gu.se/en/quality-government

And find some of Monika and Marcia's related publications here:
Bauhr, M., & Grimes, M. (2014). Indignation or Resignation: The Implications of Transparency for Societal Accountability. Governance, 27(2), 291–320. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12033

Bauhr, Monika and Marcia Grimes. 2021. “Democracy and Quality of Government” in Bauhr, Monika, Andreas Bågenholm, Marcia Grimes and Bo Rothstein (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Quality of Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/33431

Bauhr, M., & Charron, N. (2018). Insider or Outsider? Grand Corruption and Electoral Accountability. Comparative Political Studies, 51(4), 415–446. https://doi.org/10.1177/001041401771025

Bauhr, M., Charron, N., & Wängnerud, L. (2024a). What candidate will fight corruption? Gender and anti-corruption stereotypes across European countries. European Political Science Review, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773924000134

Bauhr, M., Charron, N., & Wängnerud, L. (2024b). Will Women’s Representation Reduce Bribery? Trends in Corruption and Public Service Delivery Across European Regions. Political Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-024-09925-x % year impact factor

Cornell, A., & Grimes, M. (2023). Brokering Bureaucrats: How Bureaucrats and Civil Society Facilitate Clientelism Where Parties are Weak. Comparative Political Studies, 56(6), 788-823. https://doi.org/10.1177/00104140221115171

Larsson, F., & Grimes, M. (2023). Societal Accountability and Grand Corruption: How Institutions Shape Citizens’ Efforts to Shape Institutions. Political Studies, 71(4), 1321-1346. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217211067134

123. Marcia Grimes and Monika Bauhr on the relationship between corruption and democracy

Leading anticorruption expert and former Transparency International Chair, Dr. Delia Ferreira Rubio joins host Liz David Barrett to discuss the evolution of the global anti-corruption movement. Drawing on 40+ years of experience, Delia explores how civil society's role has evolved beyond advocacy to direct action, examines the increasing sophistication of corruption in the digital age, and highlights the importance of cross-sector collaboration in fighting corruption.

124. Delia Ferreira Rubio on the evolution of the anticorruption movement

This episode dives into the shadowy world of illicit financial networks with Dr Dan Haberly, whose research with the GI ACE program addresses significant knowledge gaps around the opaque structures of the global economy. Dan introduces the Regulation of Illicit Financial Flows (RIFF) dataset, which aims to track regulatory progress in financial transparency. The discussion examines the geographical reorganisation and persistence of illicit networks and the role of various jurisdictions in facilitating illicit finance. 

Learn more about Dan and GI ACE's ground-breaking research here:
https://giace.org/resources/from-secrecy-to-scrutiny-a-new-map-of-illicit-global-financial-networks-and-regulation/
https://giace.org/resources/the-regulation-of-illicit-financial-flows-riff-dataset/

This research is part of the Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) programme which generates actionable evidence that policymakers, practitioners and advocates can use to design and implement more effective anti-corruption initiatives. This GI ACE project is funded by UK International Development. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.

126. Dan Haberly on illicit global financial networks

For this episode of KickBack, we are joined by Gary Kalman, who is the Executive Director of Transparency International United States and Blair Glencorse, the Founder and co-CEO of Accountability Lab. They join Liz Dávid-Barrett to dissect the Trump administration’s drastic cuts to US aid and its implications for anti-corruption efforts worldwide.

https://us.transparency.org/
https://accountabilitylab.org/

Learn more about Accountability Lab and Development Gateway's Strategic Partnerships system here:  https://accountlab.typeform.com/merge?typeform-source=www.linkedin.com 



127. Blair Glencorse and Gary Kalman on Trump's USAID cuts

This episode features a discussion between regular KB host Liz David-Barrett, and Kevin E. Davis, the Beller Family Professor of Business Law at NYU School of Law. Their conversation centres on the international regulation of bribery and corruption, specifically focusing on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), following President Trump's recent suspension of its enforcement. The episode explores the potential implications for U.S. companies, foreign entities, and international anti-corruption efforts.

Read Kevin's recent blog post on this issue here: https://wp.nyu.edu/compliance_enforcement/2025/02/21/implications-of-pausing-fcpa-enforcement/

And his paper on international regulation here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4506000

128. Kevin E. Davis on the FCPA enforcement pause

For this episode Dr Marianne Camerer, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, and Devi Pillay, a research fellow with the GI-ACE programme, join regular KB host Liz David-Barrett to discuss the experience of state capture in South Africa, under the presidency of Jacob Zuma. 

Check out the following resources to learn more about the issues discussed in this episode: 

The Open Secrets website which houses the Civil Society Working Group Against State Capture
https://www.opensecrets.org.za/civil-society-working-group-on-state-capture/

The State Capture Commission website
https://www.statecapture.org.za/

The Public Protector’s 2016 report
https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/state-capture-report-public-protector-14-october-2016

A short summary written by Devi of the Commission and its findings https://pari.org.za/summary-the-state-capture-commission

And the book "State  Capture in South Africa: How and why it happened", edited by Mbongiseni Buthelezi and Peter Vale  
https://pari.org.za/new-book-state-capture-in-south-africa-how-and-why-it-happened/

This research is part of the Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) programme which generates actionable evidence that policymakers, practitioners and advocates can use to design and implement more effective anti-corruption initiatives. This GI ACE project is funded by UK International Development. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.

129. Marianne Camerer & Devi Pillay on State Capture in South Africa

This episode features Nishan de Mel, the Executive Director of Verite Research, to discuss their development of Sri Lanka’s innovative governance-linked bond, which seeks to break the country’s vicious cycle of poor governance and financial instability. 

Learn more about:
Verite Research - https://www.veriteresearch.org

The Civil Society Governance Diagnostic Report, mentioned by Nishan - https://www.tisrilanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GDA_REPORT_2023.pdf

And the IMF’s Governance Diagnostic Assessment - https://www.treasury.gov.lk/news/article/221

For more on issues of corruption in Sri Lanka, check out Kickback episode 106, with Sankhitha Gunaratne. 

132. Nishan de Mel on Sri Lanka's governance-linked bond

Is Anti-Corruption work an inclusive movement deeply connected to its grassroots origins, or a self-serving, hierarchical entity that partially manufactures the problems for which it offers solutions?

To critically examine this dichotomy, and the UK’s anticorruption ecosystem more broadly, Kickback host Robert Barrington is joined by Rebecca Dobson-Phillips, assistant Professor in Politics at the Centre for the Study of Corruption, Alex Jacobs, director of the Joffe Trust, and Helen Taylor, a senior legal researcher at spotlight on corruption.

Anti-Corruption in a Discordant World: Contestation, Abuse and Innovation is edited by David Jackson, Inge Amunsen and Aled Williams (Chr. Michelsen Institute) and will be published by Routledge later this year. The book gathers empirical evidence on the many paths anti-corruption has taken in a discordant world and ponders how this context has distorted, deformed and enriched anti-corruption practice. It will include a chapter by Rebecca Dobson Phillips on "Corruption and Anti-corruption in Post-Brexit Britain".

This research is part of the Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) programme which generates actionable evidence that policymakers, practitioners and advocates can use to design and implement more effective anti-corruption initiatives. This GI ACE project is funded by UK International Development. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.

133. Rebecca Dobson Phillips, Helen Taylor & Alex Jacobs on the UK's Anti-Corruption Ecosystem

This episode features Oz Dincer and Michael Johnston, who join regular Kickback host Robert Barrington to discuss their new book 'Corruption in America', which explores corruption in various policy areas across all fifty states. 

Dincer O, Johnston M. Corruption in America: A Fifty-Ring Circus. Cambridge University Press; 2025.

134. Oguzhan Dincer & Michael Johnston on Corruption in America

For this episode, regular host Robert Barrington is joined by two anticorruption experts from Australia. Nicole Rose is the Deputy Commissioner at The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), and AJ Brown is a Professor of Public Policy and Law at Griffith University and the Chair of Transparency International’s (TI) Australian chapter. 
Some of the main themes discussed in the episode include: 
-	The extent and nature of corruption in Australia
-	The role of the newly-established NACC in addressing “grey corruption"
-	Effective approaches to anticorruption measures
-	The utility of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
-	Uniquely Australian concepts of corruption
-	Top priorities in strengthening the anticorruption system. 

For more on corruption in liberal democracies, check out the previous episode: 134. Oguzhan Dincer & Michael Johnston on Corruption in America. 

Find out more about AJ’s work here: https://experts.griffith.edu.au/18540-a-j-brown
And the NACC here: https://www.nacc.gov.au/

135. Nicole Rose & AJ Brown on Corruption in Australia

This Kickback episode features Mo Ibrahim, who joins Liz David-Barrett to share his transition from entrepreneurship to philanthropy, by establishing the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to promote good governance and leadership in Africa. 
Mo shares the primary mechanisms to achieving the Foundations goals, including the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, and the Africa leadership prize, which aims to highlight positive role models and support them post-office, asserting the importance of African-led initiatives and self-reliance in the face of declining foreign aid and internal conflicts.

Learn more about the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) here: https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/our-research/iiag

136. Mo Ibrahim on Good Governance in Africa

Join regular KB host Liz David-Barrett in conversation with Nicola Bonucci, a veteran public international lawyer who has been involved in the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention since its creation. This episode traces the convention's journey from its 1993 origins to current challenges, exploring how peer review mechanisms have transformed international business practices and examining the implications of recent changes in US enforcement policy. Essential listening for anyone interested in international law, corporate compliance, and the ongoing fight against global corruption.

137. Nicola Bonucci on the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

How do multinational consulting firms enable state capture? In this episode, regular KB host Liz David-Barrett chats with Devi Pillay about her research on the role of McKinsey & Co.'s involvement in the capture of South Africa under President Zuma. Drawing on evidence from the Zondo Commission, Devi describes how consulting firms worked with politically connected local partners to extract billions in fees from state-owned enterprises, while providing misleading advice that facilitated further corruption. Liz and Devi also discuss the vital role of investigative journalists and whistleblowers in exposing these arrangements, the devastating impact on South Africa's infrastructure and economy, and the mixed accountability outcomes for the firms involved.

Find Devi Pillay’s working paper for GI ACE here: https://giace.org/resources/consulting-firms-corruption-and-state-capture/

Find similar themes on South Africa's state capture in episode 129.

This research is part of the Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence (GI ACE) programme which generates actionable evidence that policymakers, practitioners and advocates can use to design and implement more effective anti-corruption initiatives. This GI ACE project is funded by UK International Development. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.

138. Devi Pillay on the role of consulting firms in state capture

Hungary, once seen as a democratic success story is now widely recognized as one of the EU's most corrupt member states. Regular KB host Liz David-Barrett sits down with József Péter Martin and Áron Hajnal to examine how Viktor Orbán built a system of state capture, and why the EU struggled to respond. They discuss their research evaluating the effectiveness of EU conditionality measures, the challenges of tackling corruption when it's built into the regime itself, and what might happen in Hungary's crucial April 2026 elections.

Find Áron and József’s article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10999922.2025.2554409?scroll=top&needAccess=true#d1e186


139. Áron Hajnal & József Péter Martin on systemic corruption in Hungary

Why do voters sometimes support corrupt politicians? And can putting forward women candidates help parties recover from corruption scandals? In this episode, regular host Liz David-Barrett speaks with Emily Elia about her experimental research on voter behaviour and corruption in Latin American democracies. The conversation delves into the "feminization strategy", examining the level to which deploying women candidates after corruption scandals actually works to restore party credibility. The conversation also explores emerging questions about who becomes an anti-corruption fighter in politics and whether voters can tell genuine reformers from those just paying lip service to clean government.

Read more about Emily's research into gender stereotypes and electoral accountability here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-024-09943-9

And on the role of ideological proximity to the opposition in "corruption voting" here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379422001019?via%3Dihub

140. Emily Elia on gender and electoral accountability in Latin America


Liz David-Barrett speaks with human rights and international law expert Naomi Roht-Arriaza, about the intersection of grand corruption and human rights. Naomi shares how her decades of work on transitional justice led her to confront the blocking of post-conflict progress by state capture, often involving alliances between organized crime, political elites, and economic interests. The discussion examines how corruption violates a broad range of human rights, why giving victims legal standing in corruption cases matters, and what reparations beyond financial compensation might look like. Naomi also addresses the inadequacy of current international legal frameworks that assume states will combat their own corruption, and calls for breaking down silos between human rights, anti-corruption, and environmental advocates to tackle these interconnected challenges.

Links to Naomi’s research:
Fighting Grand Corruption: Transnational and Human Rights Approaches in Latin America and Beyond - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/fighting-grand-corruption/4B738654046BEA6F0F2FF336BEA12112

The right to be free of corruption: A new frontier in anti-corruption approaches through national courts - https://cdn.sanity.io/files/1f1lcoov/production/863973678d954b32539d37b070dbf556776b8e67.pdf


141. Naomi Roht-Arriaza  on grand corruption & human rights

For our first episode of 2026, regular host Liz David-Barrett is joined by Anna Persson, associate professor and senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg. 
Anna draws on extensive field research to challenge simplistic understandings of political will, and  explore systemic corruption as a complex collective action problem. Anna examines how moral hazard and adverse selection shape leadership behaviour, and how corruption becomes "expected behaviour" in societies where the high individual costs of resisting systemic corruption make transparency measures insufficient. The episode also challenges the "coherent state" model, examining how competing authorities and variations in state effectiveness within countries impact anticorruption efforts. 

Links to Anna's research:

Why Anticorruption Reforms Fail—Systemic Corruption as a Collective Action Problem https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2012.01604.x?saml_referrer

The Power of Ideational Reach: A New Approach to State Capacity
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gove.70020
 
Responsive and Responsible Leaders: A Matter of Political Will?
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/abs/responsive-and-responsible-leaders-a-matter-of-political-will/DD7C9258D3E95E8B79CB70FA10126275

142. Anna Persson on systemic corruption and political will

The discussion between Matthew and Susan touches on how Susan got interested in corruption – by experiences made within the US -, how her scope of interest has expanded,  and why her seminal book was not an immediate success. 

Susan points to the experimental field work by Benjamin Olken and the creative approach to measuring corruption by Ray Fisman.
Susan and Matthew discuss the differences between the Principal Agent Theory of corruption and the prominent critique arguing that corruption is rather a collective action problem (see episode Episode 5 of KickBack, https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/5-episode-bo-rothstein). 

Picks of the podcast:
The picks by Susan are: 
-  the theoretical work on public choice by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. 
- George Washington Plunkitt a Tammany Hall political boss in New York City and his famous speech from 1905 on honest and dishonest graft.
- The work by John Gardiner on Town X

1. Susan Rose-Ackerman on the principal-agent theory of corruption

Lola Adekanye (@lola_kanye) is a Senior Program Officer, Africa at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). 

Her background in compliance and banking got Lola interested in development and ethics, a stopover at the World Bank. Lola describes CIPE’s work at the intersection of the private and public sector, using market-oriented reforms to tackle corruption, with the key goal: drive up the cost of corruption and drive up the cost of compliance.

Lola describes joint work with the University of Sussex trying to get a better understanding why people do not engage in corruption. She also describes concrete ideas against corruption, such as the Compliance Clubs in Kenya that provide a support network for enterprises to do business without engaging corruption. 

The interview touches on how corruption in Subsaharan African is often a survival issue, listen to the short term reasons to develop long term solutions. They follow the principle of 3R consisting of:

How to RESPOND to request of corruption by providing them with realistic alternatives 
RECORD the request and pass it on to the higher level
REPORT the request in order to get an estimate of how often such payment request occur

Lola describes the Ethics first project as an example for realistic ethics guidelines and cautions against short-term impact measures as change often takes time and requires institutionalization of ethics. 

Her advice for young scholars is crucial: stay in the game and don’t burn out by taking small steps towards improvement.

Strengthening Ethical Conduct and Business Integrity: A Guide for Companies in Emerging Markets: https://www.cipe.org/resources/strengthening-ethical-conduct-business-integrity-a-guide-for-companies-in-emerging-markets/

Free Anti-Corruption online course: https://cipe.course.tc/login?error=no_cookie&id=&course_title=Anti-Corruption%20Compliance%20Training&wp=/ac-compliance/

46. Lola Adekanye on the anti-corruption efforts by the Center for International Private Enterprises

This podcast series features in-depth interviews with a wide range of corruption experts, on questions such as:
What have we learned from 20+ years of (anti)corruption research? 
Why and how does power corrupt?
Which theories help to make sense of corruption?
What can we do to manage corruption?
How to recovery stolen assets?

Popular tracks by KickBack - The Global Anticorruption Podcast