‘Countering Global Kleptocracy’: A strategy for fighting authoritarian corruption

     

Kleptocracy, or “rule by thieves,” has for too long been disregarded from mainstream foreign policy discussions, according to a new report. It is often overlooked as a peripheral economic development issue: A problem for tax justice advocates and foreign aid workers. Yet it has been shaping international politics and the global security environment for decades, analysts Nate Sibley and Ben Judah in a new policy paper from Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative.

Kleptocracy is a blight on international development, governance and democracy, vastly worsening conditions for populations worldwide. The Biden-Harris administration will have an unprecedented opportunity—and a unique responsibility—to confront this pervasive threat with decisive action, they write in Countering Global Kleptocracy: A New US Strategy for Fighting Authoritarian Corruption:

This chance comes not come a moment too soon. Since the end of the Cold War, corruption has metastasized beyond national borders into a problem of almost unimaginable scale. The United Nations has estimated that $1 trillion are paid in bribes and a further $2.3 trillion otherwise stolen annually.1 Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based think tank, cites corruption as a key factor in $8.7 trillion that vanished from official records of trade between 135 developing countries and 36 advanced economies from 2008-2017.2

 

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