KickBack - The Global Anticorruption Podcast
This podcast series features in-depth interviews with a wide range of corruption experts, exploring questions such as what we have learned from over 20 years of anti-corruption research, why and how power corrupts, which theories help make sense of corruption, what can be done to manage corruption, and how to recover stolen assets.
Episodes
149. David Jackson on Anti-Corruption in a Discordant World
In this episode of KickBack, host Rebecca Dobson-Phillips is joined by David Jackson, Principal Adviser at the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, to explore the changing landscape of anti-corruption and the key themes of the new book Anti-Corruption in a Discordant World.
Reflecting on three decades of progress in the anti-corruption field, the conversation examines how contemporary political tu
148. Alanna Markle & Thom Townsend on measuring the impact of Beneficial Ownership Transparency
In this episode of Kickback, host Tom Shipley sits down with Thom Townsend, the executive director of Open Ownership, and Alanna Markle, the senior manager for policy and research at Open Ownership, to map out the global research agenda for Beneficial Ownership Transparency (BOT).
Highlighting cutting-edge research from a recent symposium of 150 global experts, the conversation explores how BOT
147. Marina Nistotskaya on merit-based bureaucracies
In this episode of Kickback, host Elizabeth David-Barrett is joined by Marina Nistotskaya, Professor at the Department of Political Science and researcher at the Quality of Government Institute, University of Gothenburg.
The conversation explores the role of merit-based recruitment in shaping effective and impartial bureaucracies. Marina discusses how hiring processes influence both competence a
146. Diana Bociga on the network architecture of anti-money laundering
The UK's anti-money laundering system involves 88 organizations across policy, supervision, and enforcement, but does this complex network actually work? In this episode, host Robert Barrington speaks with Diana Bociga about her research using social network analysis to map how these organizations collaborate. Diana's findings reveal a system operating across two disconnected dimensions, strategic
145. Maria Nizzero on the kleptocratic enterprise
Despite significant volumes of illicit finance flowing through the UK, asset recovery from kleptocratic networks remains limited. In this episode, regular KB host Robert Barrington speaks with Maria Nizzero, the Head of Sanctions Policy at UK Finance and Honorary Research Fellow at Exeter University, about her recent research that proposes reconceptualizing kleptocracy as a transnational criminal
144. Peter Hain on liberation and corruption
Why do liberation movements that fight for freedom so often succumb to corruption once in power? In this episode, Liz David-Barrett speaks with Lord Peter Hain about his new book Liberation and Corruption: Why Freedom Movements Fail. Drawing on his personal connection to South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle and examining cases from Nicaragua to India, Peter explores how movements that come to po
143. Rachel Davies and Tom Shipley on the UK's new anticorruption strategy
After a three-year gap, the UK finally has a new anti-corruption strategy. To discuss, Robert Barrington is joined by Rachel Davies from Transparency International UK and Tom Shipley from the Centre for the Study of Corruption. They assess what the December 2025 strategy gets right, where it falls short, and whether it will actually make a difference. The discussion examines the strategy's streng
142. Anna Persson on systemic corruption and political will
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
141. Naomi Roht-Arriaza on grand corruption & human rights
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
140. Emily Elia on gender and electoral accountability in Latin America
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 depl
139. Áron Hajnal & József Péter Martin on systemic corruption in Hungary
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 chal
138. Devi Pillay on the role of consulting firms in state capture
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 billion
137. Nicola Bonucci on the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
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
136. Mo Ibrahim on Good Governance in Africa
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 hig
135. Nicole Rose & AJ Brown on Corruption in Australia
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:
134. Oguzhan Dincer & Michael Johnston on Corruption in America
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.
133. Rebecca Dobson Phillips, Helen Taylor & Alex Jacobs on the UK's Anti-Corruption Ecosystem
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
132. Nishan de Mel on Sri Lanka's governance-linked bond
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:
131. Mario Hidalgo on corruption & organised crime in Ecuador
This episode of Kickback features Dr. Mario Hidalgo, from the Transparency and Anti-Corruption Laboratory at UTE university in Ecuador, to shed light on Ecuador's transition from the "Island of Peace" to a country facing widespread organised crime and violence, highlighting the significantly enabling role of corruption. The conversation also touches upon Ecuador's institutional unpreparedness, pol
130. Daniel Paget on authoritarianism & resistance in Tanzania
For this episode, regular host Liz David-Barrett is joined by Dr Daniel Paget, an assistant professor in politics at the University of Sussex, to unpack the nuances of electoral authoritarianism in Tanzania, the aspirations of a key opposition movement, and the power of alternative theoretical frameworks for understanding the fight against domination and for democracy.
Find Daniel's paper 'The An
129. Marianne Camerer & Devi Pillay on State Capture in South Africa
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 dis
128. Kevin E. Davis on the FCPA enforcement pause
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
127. Blair Glencorse and Gary Kalman on Trump's USAID cuts
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://accountabili
126. Dan Haberly on illicit global financial networks
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 geographica
125. John Heathershaw, Tena Prelec and Tom Mayne on Indulging Kleptocracy
For this episode we are joined by John Heathershaw, Tena Prelec and Tom Mayne to discuss their new book Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption. This conversation focuses on professional enablers that provide services to help kleptocrats to launder their reputations, move their money, and gain access to political influence. John Tena a
124. Delia Ferreira Rubio on the evolution of the anticorruption movement
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 highlig
123. Marcia Grimes and Monika Bauhr on the relationship between corruption and democracy
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 t
122. Florencia Guerzovich and Tom Shipley: Does the corruption field have a learning problem?
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 Monitori
121. Mark Robinson and Maja de Vibe on Corruption Risks in Renewable Energy
How can the renewable energy sector learn from the corruption risks that have plagued the extractive industries for decades to ensure a just energy transition?
Mark Robinson, Executive Director of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), and Maja de Vibe, the Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Statkraft discuss their new working paper ‘Good governance and the j
120. Dan Hough on football's integrity challenges
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 soc
119. David Jancsics on the sociology of corruption
Professor David Jancsics (San Diego State University) discusses his research on the sociology of corruption. Drawing on sociological and other theoretical insights, he proposes a new typology of corruption with two cross-cutting dimensions (the type of resource transfer and the client) and four types: market corruption, social bribe, corrupt organisation and state capture. The discussion also cove
118. Caryn Peiffer and Nic Cheeseman on how to get anti-corruption messaging right
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
117. Scott Greytak and Tom Firestone on the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act
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 Trans
116. Understanding the problem of sexual corruption and how best to respond
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-Maastri
115. Lucio Picci on the need to rethink the current anti-corruption paradigm
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
114. Emmanuel Mathias on the IMF's approach to anti-corruption
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
113. Ketakandriana Rafitoson on state capture In Madagascar and its international linkages
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 explo
112. John Penrose (MP) on his experiences as the UK government's Anti-Corruption Champion
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 developme
111. Tom Burgis on investigating corruption and the fight to own the truth
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
110. Richard Nephew on coordinating US efforts to counter corruption
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. Richar
109. The links between corruption and national security issues
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. T
108. Alison Taylor on anti-corruption in the changing landscape for business ethics
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 law
107. Introduction to defining corruption
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 fo
106. Sankhitha Gunaratne on combating state capture in Sri Lanka
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 capture
105. Daniel Freund on the responsibilities of the European Union in fighting corruption.
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
104. Anti-corruption political parties: how do they emerge and what is their track record?
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 gro
103. Robert Klitgaard on different lenses for analysing corruption
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). Rober
102. Professional enablers and transnational corruption: How can standards be raised?
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 acti
101. Reflections on the key issues raised in Episode 100
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
100. The state of practice in the corruption field: insights from leading global thinkers
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
99. Huma Yusuf on the links between business integrity and ESG
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, b
98. Introduction to Corruption Theory
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 overvi
97. Michela Wrong on the story behind It's Our Turn to Eat and her writing on Africa
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 w
96. John Githongo on lessons from the fight against corruption in Kenya
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 les
95. Magnus Öhman on political finance and corruption
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 artifici
94. Grant Walton on the politics of anti-corruption in Papua New Guinea
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 appr
93. Introduction to corruption measurement debates
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 c
92. Andrew Wedeman on the politics of anti-corruption campaigns in China
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
91. Cheri-Leigh Erasmus on the work of the Accountability Lab
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 a
90. Claudia Baez Camargo on lessons from applying a social norms approach to corruption
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 nor
89. Cecilia Müller Torbrand on collective action and addressing corruption in shipping
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
88. Luís de Sousa on anti-corruption agencies and Portugal's anti-corruption journey
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
87. Paul Massaro on the US strategy for fighting kleptocracy
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 c
86. Dame Margaret Hodge on integrity in business and politics in the UK
Kicking off 2023 we were delighted to have Dame Margaret Hodge join us to talk about integrity issues in the UK. She speaks to Dr. Sam Power, Senior Lecturer at the Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption, to talk about her fascinating route into politics and how this naturally led her to focus on integrity. The episode covers corruption issues in the UK including the UK's role in wider internat
85. Shannon Green on USAID's approach to anti-corruption and dekleptification
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 discuss
84. Matthew Stephenson and Liz Dávid-Barrett on the future of Kickback
We are delighted to announce that the Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC) at the University of Sussex is the new home of Kickback. The centre will be hosting the podcast over the next three years. We look forward to continuing the great work of the original Kickback team and welcoming an interesting range of guests from across the anti-corruption community. Robert Barrington talks more about
83. Maggie Murphy and Dan Hough on integrity in football
Ahead of the Qatar World Cup, we welcome Maggie Murphy, CEO of Lewes Football Club and a former Senior Global Advocacy Manager at Transparency International. She speaks to Dan Hough, self-professed football obsessive and Professor of Politics at Sussex University.
Maggie takes us through her journey from anti-corruption campaigning to football management. She and Dan discuss the ethical problems
82. Daniel Kaufmann and Liz Dávid-Barrett on state capture
In the first of a series of episodes hosted by the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, we welcome Daniel Kaufmann. Daniel is a senior fellow at Results for Development (R4D) and President Emeritus at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI). He is also a former Director of the World Bank where he headed programmes related to corruption and governance. He is well
81. Andrii Borovyk & Gretta Fenner an anti-corruption during the war & reconstruction in Ukraine
We welcome Andrii Borovyk (@Borovyk_UA), Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine, and Gretta Fenner (@gretweets), the managing director of the Basel Institute for Governance.
Andrii and Gretta describe their background and how they ended up in their current positions.
How the invasion changed anti-corruption work within Ukraine, how reconstruction efforts have already begun, and
80. Mihaly Fazekas on corruption risks in public procurement and the potential of new technologies
We welcome Mihaly Fazekas, assistant professor at the Central European University, Department of Public Policy, who works on a range of topics related to corruption. The interview covers how how his own personal experience with bad public infrastructure inspired him to conduct corruption research, why he believes that corruption research would benefit from a better understanding of what are actual
79. Michel Sapin and Valentina Lana on France’s unique approach to anti-corruption
Michel Sapin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Sapin) served as a Minister of Finance in France from 1992 to 1993 and 2014 to 2017 and now works as a Senior Advisor for Franklin Lawyers with a specialization in anti-corruption laws. Valentina Lana is a Lecturer at the Sciences Po law school in Paris.
Matthew Stephenson interviews the two to discuss the French anti-corruption law known as the
78. Ray Fisman on types of corruption and the hidden influence of political connections
We are thrilled to welcome Ray Fisman (@RFisman), Professor of Economics at Boston University, long-standing corruption expert and author of Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations (https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691144696/economic-gangsters) (with Ed Miguel) and Corruption: What everybody needs to know (https://books.google.de/books/about/Corruption.h
77. Frederik Obermaier on the Suisse Secrets
Today, we welcome investigative journalist Frederik Obermaier (@f_obermaier).
In the interview, we cover the Suisse Secrets (https://www.occrp.org/en/suisse-secrets/).
Frederik also mentions the China Cables uncovering surveillance and mass internment without charge or trial of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, China (https://www.icij.org/investigations/china-cables/). We also di
76. Gary Kalman on anti-corruption legislation in the US
We welcome back Gary Kalman, director of Transparency International’s United States Office, for the third time. Find out more about the coalition at us.transparency.org
(00:40) - Progress the U.S. is making on the fight against global corruption, and the role of U.S. entities in facilitating corruption
(05:19) - The White House Anti Corruption strategy document (“United States Strategy on Counter
75. Anastasia Kirilenko on media freedom and the role of civil society in Russia
In this special episode, we welcome Anastasia Kirilenko to the podcast. She is an investigative journalist and the co-author of the documentary "Putin and the Mafia" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttM-O-j1AVs&t=462s).
(02:55) - Kirilenko's background
(06:59) - Documentary "Putin and the Mafia"
(10:55) - Media restrictions in Russia
(15:50) - The role of the civil society in Russia
(20:32) - T
74. Svitlana Musiiaka on the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission in Ukraine
In this special episode, Oksana Huss, who has been working on anticorruption in Ukraine for the last 10 years, talks with Svitlana Musiiaka, who is a lawyer based in Ukraine and Head of Research and Policy at NAKO. Musiiaka was previously Head of Corruption Detection in the Ministry of Health, and worked with the Prosecutors Office in Ukraine.
(01:32) - Musiiaka’s career
(06:37) - What is NAKO,
73. Oksana Nesterenko on the war in Ukraine and Putin's regime
We welcome Oksana Nesterenko as part of our series on Ukraine. She is an Associate Professor of Law and the Executive Director of the Anti-corruption Research and Education Centre at National University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy.
(01:06) - Nesterenko’s interest in anti-corruption and her work as an academic researcher and advocate
(02:39) - The war for values
(11:00) - The cultural and political th
72. Igor Logvinenko on corruption and the current sanctions in Russia
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
71. Inna Melnykovska on how crony capitalism relates to the war in Ukraine
We welcome Inna Melnykovska from the Political Science Department at Central European University. She is an expert on state business relations and crony capitalism in Eastern Europe.
(01:50) - The direction of Inna’s research
(06:00) - Political pluralism and the competition of big business in Ukrainian politics
(08:50) - Putin and Ukraine’s competitive oligarchy
(10:14) - The similarities and
70. Oksana Huss & Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez on the war in Ukraine
We are joined by Oksana Huss, postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Bologna, and Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez, Associate Professor and specialist in anti-corruption studies at Osaka University, where we discuss the unfolding events in Ukraine through the lenses of corruption.
We continue to think about the Ukrainian people, their suffering and the tragic loss of life during these recent eve
