how are foreign kleptocrats using western institutions to protect their ill-gotten gains?
In a seven-article cluster on transnational kleptocracy, analysts examine the rise of offshore finance, Malaysia’s massive 1MDB scandal, how Russia and China compare to the kleptocratic model, and more.
The January issue cluster on transnational kleptocracy features:
- Christopher Walker and Melissa Aten on kleptocracy’s challenge to democracy;
- Oliver Bullough on how offshore finance made kleptocracy possible;
- Alexander Cooley, John Heathershaw, and J.C. Sharman on the role of foreign brokers in laundering kleptocrats’ cash and reputations;
- Cynthia Gabriel on Mayalsia’s massive 1MDB scandal;
- Miriam Lanskoy and Dylan Myles-Primakoff on the interplay of rampant looting and power politics in Putin’s Russia;
- Andrew Wedeman on whether China fits the kleptocratic model;
- and Brett L. Carter on the global dimension of the struggle between autocrats and citizens in Central Africa.
For further discussion about transnational kleptocracy, read blog posts related to this article cluster on the International Forum’s Power 3.0 blog.
Terrorism and democracy
How does regime type affect a country’s capacity to confront terrorist attacks? Amichai Magen explains the “triple democracy advantage” in preventing and responding to terror, while Geoffrey Macdonald and Luke Waggoner argue that rising extremism in Tunisia highlights the importance of managing expectations during democratic transitions.
Suu kyi’s missteps
After decades of military rule, high hopes greeted the triumph of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma’s 2015 elections. Zoltan Barany assesses why these hopes have faded amid stalled reforms and brutal military assault on Burma’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
In addition, in the January 2018 issue:
- Carl Gershman reviews Condoleezza Rice’s new book on democracy.
- Cynthia McClintock shows how presidential runoffs have helped new democracies in Latin America overcome key political challenges.
- Ben Margulies and Takis S. Pappas debate how to classify Western Europe’s increasingly prominent nativist parties.
- Edward Aspinall, Allen Hicken, James Scambary, and Meredith Weiss consider the grassroots dynamics of the recent parliamentary vote in the tiny island nation of Timor-Leste.
For the complete Table of Contents, visit www.journalofdemocracy.org.
