On Wednesday, September 6th, at 2:00 PM EDT, please join the International Forum, the report authors, and Jodi Vittori (Georgetown University) for a virtual discussion on how Russia and China provide surge capacity to kleptocratic networks in Africa, drawing on findings from the latest Forum report. NED President Damon Wilson will open the event. The Forum’s senior program officer for transnational kleptocracy, Melissa Aten, will moderate the discussion.
The Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 showcased to the world the grave national security threat that kleptocracy poses to democracy. In the months following the invasion, the U.S., U.K., and allies took action against the corrupting activities of Kremlin-backed actors. Over the past year, in certain respects, momentum has stalled. Given the critical importance of sustaining attention on the scourge of transnational kleptocratic networks, the Forum has maintained a dedicated focus on how civil society can adapt responses to this defining challenge to democracy.
The International Forum features all transnational kleptocracy-related work on the Transnational Kleptocracy Research Hub. The hub is frequently updated with new analysis and commentary from scholars, practitioners, and civil society activists within our network. Resources include regular Forum reports, events, blog posts, and more.
As authoritarian actors adapt to the changing landscape, democracies must situate kleptocracy as a key national security concern and adapt accordingly. Report authors Matthew T. Page and Jodi Vittori argue that kleptocracy must figure more prominently in democracies’ foreign and domestic policymaking strategies in this January 2023 report.
Ahead of the Summit for Democracy, the Forum released a series of issue briefs on the defining global challenges to democracy, including combating transnational kleptocracy. The brief featured four key principles for addressing the challenge:
Building transnational networks to expose kleptocracy.
Defending key anti-kleptocracy organizations and individual activists.
Addressing vulnerabilities in open societies.
Sustaining momentum in the battle against transnational kleptocracy.
In March 2022, NED vice president for studies and analysis, Christopher Walker authored an article entitled “The Kleptocratic Sources of Russia’s Conduct“ about Russian elites’ fixation on wealth and power.
The Journal of Democracy is a leading publication featuring scholarly analysis on the theory and practice of democracy. See the Journal’s cluster of articles on transnational kleptocracy in its January 2018 issue.
The Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 showcased to the world the grave national security threat that kleptocracy poses to democracy. In the months following the invasion, the U.S., U.K., and allies took action against the corrupting activities of Kremlin-backed actors. Over the past year, in certain respects, momentum has stalled. Given the critical importance of sustaining attention on the scourge of transnational kleptocratic networks, the Forum has maintained a dedicated focus on how civil society can adapt responses to this defining challenge to democracy.
