In this episode of KickBack, host Robert Barrington is joined by Professor Matthew Stephenson, one of the podcast’s original founders, and Professor Liz David-Barrett, Professor of Governance and Integrity and Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, to take a wide-ranging look at trends in corruption and anti-corruption.

The conversation explores key thinkers and writers that have shaped their understanding of the field, as well as broader reflections on the state of corruption studies and whether there are grounds for optimism about anti-corruption interventions. They also revisit lessons from past cases of corruption and reform, and examine the relationship between democratic accountability, the rule of law, and corruption.

Additional themes include the role of artificial intelligence in shaping approaches to tackling corruption, alongside discussion of the panel’s favourite books and films on the subject. The episode concludes with reflections on what they would most like to teach in a Master’s course on corruption, and which topics they see as most important for the next generation of students in the field.

Links to discussed publications:

Articles

Cuèllar, M.F. and Stephenson, M.C., 2022. Taming systemic corruption: the American experience and its implications for contemporary debates. World Development, 155, p.105755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105755

Dávid-Barrett, E., 2023. State capture and development: a conceptual framework. Journal of International Relations and Development, p.1. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-023-00290-6

Dobson Phillips, R.., Dávid-Barrett, E. and Barrington, R., 2025. Defining corruption in context. Perspectives on Politics, pp.1-15. doi:10.1017/S153759272400286X

Stephenson, M.C., 2020. Corruption as a self-reinforcing trap: Implications for reform strategy. The World Bank Research Observer, 35(2), pp.192-226. https://academic.oup.com/wbro/article-abstract/35/2/192/5857269

Wathne, C. and Stephenson, M.C., 2021. The credibility of corruption statistics. A critical review of ten global estimates, April, U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, https://www.u4.no/publications/the-credibility-of-corruption-statistics

Recommended viewing and reading

Novine - Croatian TV drama 2016-2022

All the King's Men - Oscar-winning film of 1949 (re-made in 2006)

No Longer At Ease - 1960 novel by Chinua Achebe

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 turbulence is reshaping anti-corruption efforts through three lenses: contestation, abuse and innovation. Rebecca and David discuss how anti-corruption initiatives can be challenged, manipulated or even weaponised, while also highlighting innovative responses that build resilience through civil society, new alliances and emerging technologies.

The episode concludes with a discussion of anti-corruption's broader role in democratic defence, emphasising the importance of accountability institutions, investigative journalism and social mobilisation in responding to today's increasingly complex political environment.

Links to the publication discussed in this episode:

Anti-Corruption in a Discordant World: Contestation, Abuse, and Innovation. Edited by David Jackson, Inge Amundsen and David Aled Williams: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003531920/anti-corruption-discordant-world-david-jackson-inge-amundsen-david-aled-williams

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 is being used across diverse sectors, from tracking media capture to mapping real estate. Thom and Alanna discuss the methodological struggles of measuring the real-world impact of hidden illicit finances, and issue an urgent call for academic researchers to help find the anti-corruption movement's ultimate "holy grail": definitively proving the economic value of investing in transparency.

Links to discussed publications:

Research Symposium Synthesis Report: Evidence and impact of beneficial ownership transparency: https://www.openownership.org/en/publications/httpswwwopenownershiporgenpublicationsresearch-symposium-synthesis-report/

From reform to results: Introducing BEAM, a new programme to measure impact in beneficial ownership transparency:

https://www.openownership.org/en/blog/from-reform-to-results-introducing-beam-a-new-programme-to-measure-impact-in-beneficial-ownership-transparency/

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 and independence, and why this distinction is critical for resisting political interference and corruption.

The discussion also considers the appropriate balance between political appointments and bureaucratic autonomy, highlighting current debates and trends across different countries. Finally, the episode looks at newer areas of research, including how ambiguity in laws and the outsourcing of state functions can affect decision-making and public service outcomes.

Links to Marina's research:

Futures for the Public Sector. Leuven University Press, 2025. Project MUSE

https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/258/oa_edited_volume/chapter/4135540/pdf

Legal Clarity and Impartiality: A Global Experimental Study of Consistency in Bureaucratic Decision Making, Joakim Nilsson and Marina Nistotskaya, 2025:

https://gupea.ub.gu.se/items/fcf9aa18-e71f-4831-abbe-a89e3576bd1a

To the Short-Sighted Victor Belong the Spoils: Politics and Merit Adoption in Comparative Perspective, Victor Lapuente and Marina Nistotskaya, 2009:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2009.01446.x

On mechanisms of meritocratic recruitment: competence and impartiality, Palina Kolvani and Marina Nistotskaya, 2025:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-institutional-economics/article/on-mechanisms-of-meritocratic-recruitment-competence-and-impartiality/B1DA105768AA5083DFF61F79E640AB39

Outsourcing, bureaucratic personnel quality and citizen satisfaction with public services,

Carl Dahlström, Marina Nistotskaya, and Maria Tyrberg, 2018:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/padm.12387

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 policy-making and tactical intelligence-sharing, where engagement in one often doesn't translate to the other. While public sector bodies serve as crucial brokers connecting different parts of the network, some brokerage roles are duplicated while others are missing entirely. The conversation explores whether the solution to improving effectiveness lies in adding more connections or fundamentally rethinking how the network is organized.

Diana Bociga, Elisa Bellotti, Nicholas Lord, The Network Architecture of Anti-money Laundering: Strategic and Tactical (Dis)Connections in the UK’s Policy, Supervision, and Enforcement Landscape, The British Journal of Criminology, 2025.

https://academic.oup.com/bjc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/bjc/azaf101/8368980

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 enterprise.

Through comparative analysis of anti-racketeering legislation across multiple jurisdictions, the research identifies five distinctive features that enable more effective prosecution and asset recovery. These include targeting organizational structures rather than individuals, establishing liability through patterns of conduct, employing flexible evidentiary standards, and justifying intervention based on societal harm. The conversation examines how these frameworks address persistent challenges in kleptocracy cases, particularly the problem of tracing assets to historical predicate offenses in uncooperative jurisdictions, and explores the implications of situating illicit finance within national security frameworks rather than traditional corruption paradigms.

Links to related papers:

Nizzero, M., Heathershaw, J., and Mayne, T. 2026. The Kleptocratic Enterprise: Lessons from organised crime to target transnational corruption and strengthen asset recovery in the UK. GI ACE Working Paper. Brighton: University of Sussex.

https://giace.org/resources/the-kleptocratic-enterprise/

Heathershaw, J., Prelec, T. and Mayne, T., 2021. Indulging kleptocracy: British service providers, postcommunist elites, and the enabling of corruption. Oxford University Press.

https://academic.oup.com/book/58173

Nizzero, M. (2023). How to Seize a Billion: Exploring Mechanisms to Recover the Proceeds of Kleptocracy. SOC ACE Research Paper No. 16. Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham.https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/external-publications/how-seize-billion-exploring-mechanisms-recover-proceeds-kleptocracy

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 power with inspiring values end up replicating the corruption of their predecessors. The conversation examines the role of global finance, professional enablers, and neoliberal pressures in facilitating grand corruption, while also highlighting South Africa's remarkable ability to confront state capture through mechanisms like the Zondo Commission. Peter also reflects on what individuals can do to resist systemic corruption and the personal costs of standing up against it.

Peter Hain- Liberation and Corruption: Why Freedom Movements Fail

https://www.peterhain.uk/p/liberation-and-corruption-why-freedom

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 strengths, including new commitments on professional enablers and domestic corruption, alongside notable weaknesses in areas like political integrity and defence procurement. With major tests ahead, the conversation explores whether the UK can credibly claim global leadership on anti-corruption while addressing serious domestic vulnerabilities.

The mentioned papers are linked below:

UK Anti-Corruption Strategy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-anti-corruption-strategy-2025

Tom Shipley's research paper on international approaches to monitoring anti-corruption programmes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-approaches-to-recording-and-monitoring-corruption

Rachel Davies's blog evaluating the Strategy: https://www.transparency.org.uk/news/strategy-action-what-uks-new-anti-corruption-plan-gets-right-and-where-it-falls-short

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

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