Systemic Corruption in Eurasia: Competit

In Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and other countries of the Eurasia region, corruption is systemic.  Corruption, defined as the abuse of public trust and power for private gain, is institutionalized in government at the national, regional, and local levels.  Formal government decision-making processes have been captured by informal networks of political and business elites who exert significant control over the allocation of public resources. They utilize this control to make illegal financial gains with the support of government authorities and protection of the law. 

When President Putin began Russia’s expanded military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the imprisoned Russian anticorruption activist and political opposition leader Alexey Navalny was on trial once again over fabricated charges of embezzlement. Though Mr. Navalny faced another 15 years in a penal colony, he seized the opportunity during his February 24 hearing to publicly state his opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine. “This war between Russia and Ukraine was unleashed to cover up the theft from Russian citizens and divert their attention from problems that exist inside the country,” he said. 

This seminar examines the role that Russia’s systemic corruption played as a cause of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Is the war an extension, and drastic escalation, of the Putin regime’s campaign against both his own citizens and the citizens of post-Maidan Ukraine? We will consider how the Kremlin’s strategic use of corruption is threatening the sovereignty of other nations in Eurasia. 

This seminar analyzes the political economy, power relationships, historical and cultural factors that have engendered systemic corruption in Eurasian countries. We identify different types of corrupt systems that have emerged in the regions. We will also examine how systemic corruption causes conflict and war, and poses a threat to the global economy and democracy. Finally, we analyze various anti-corruption reforms to understand why some failed while others succeeded.

The seminar will benefit SIPA and Harriman Institute students who specialize in regional studies of countries of the Eurasia.  It will also benefit SIPA and other graduate students who specialize in international security, economics, finance, energy, law, development, conflict resolution, and journalism.  To achieve a deep understanding of Eurasia corruption, we will examine