KickBack - The Global Anticorruption Podcast KickBack

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/

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

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

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

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 developments and drivers behind UK anti-corruption policy during this period as well as some of the key moments, including his decision to stand down from the role during Boris Johnson's administration. John and Robert finally look to the future to consider what the UK's anti-corruption infrastructure could and should look like in the years to come.

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 figures in a 'post-truth' society.