State capture: New research and reflections on the field
Liz Dávid-Barrett is Professor of Governance and Integrity at the University of Sussex and Programme Director of GI ACE and the Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption.…
Are ‘professional enablers’ providing access to justice?
Professor Robert Barrington reviews recent research under the GI ACE Programme on ‘Gatekeepers, Enablers or Technicians’, concluding that the default justification that any lawyer is obliged to represent any client…
High time to curb bank capture
Michael Hornsby, Impact Manager at the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC), outlines findings from a recent policy brief co-authored with the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF). The brief examines…
As Bain leaves South Africa, what have we learned about consultancies and corruption?
Last week, Bain & Company announced it would shut its consultancy business in South Africa, after struggling for years to overcome the consequences of its involvement in state capture during…
From Loopholes to Launchpads: How IFFs Enable Strategic Adversaries
This blog was written by Tihomira Kostova, Martin Vladimirov, and Ruslan Stefanov from the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD). The authors explore how the grey zone between illegal…
Our Hopes for a Pioneering Fellowship for Early Career Researchers
This blog was written by Rebecca Dobson Phillips, Assistant Professor in Politics at the University of Sussex and Director of Fellowships for the GI ACE Programme. What does the…
State capture and UNCAC: the Elephant in the Room
Tom Shipley is a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Corruption, embedded within the GI ACE programme. His work focuses on state capture in Sub-Saharan Africa and…
New Research to Resist State Capture in South Africa
This blog was developed by Caryn Peiffer, Nic Cheeseman, and Zenobia Ismail as part of the GI ACE research project Resisting State Capture from the Grassroots. Peiffer is Associate Professor of International Public Policy…
The Origin of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in South Africa
The South African Commission of Inquiry into State Capture (called the “Zondo Commission” after its chairperson) was a remarkable institution. From 2018 to 2022, it investigated corruption and state capture…