Chayes and Teachout on Corruption

06/09/17 • 29 min

Millions of people in the developing world encounter corruption every day, in the form of bribes they have to pay to go about their daily lives. But there’s an insidious form of corruption that permeates entire structures, including governments, which is often hidden in apparently legitimate activity. Carnegie Senior Fellow Sarah Chayes has been researching this form of corruption for the better part of a decade. She argues that in corrupt countries, kleptocratic networks involve not only government officials, but private industries and established criminal networks. In her recent report, When Corruption is the Operating System: The Case of Honduras, Sarah examines how the kleptocratic system functions in a case study on that country. Sarah joins Tom and Zephyr Teachout, author of Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United, and a democratic candidate in the New York gubernatorial race, for a discussion on corruption and power. Sarah Chayes is internationally recognized for her innovative thinking on corruption and its implications. Her work explores how severe corruption can help prompt such crises as terrorism, revolutions and their violent aftermaths, and environmental degradation. (More on Chayes - http://carnegieendowment.org/experts/712) Zephyr Teachout is an associate professor of law at Fordham University. (More on Teachout -https://www.fordham.edu/info/23186/zephyr_teachout)

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Tellis on Afghanistan’s Taliban problem

As the recent horrific bombings show, there are no easy solutions in Afghanistan. The conflict is the United States’ longest-running war, and despite the billions of dollars that have been spent in foreign support since 9/11, the Taliban continues to pose a major security threat. The White House is in the midst of a review of its Afghanistan policy and will decide later this year whether to increase the number of US troops in the country. Carnegie expert Ashley Tellis has analyzed the issue for many years, and discusses the choices facing the White House with Tom Carver. Ashley Tellis served as senior adviser to the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. He also served on the U.S. National Security Council staff as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. He is the author of India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture (RAND, 2001) and co-author of Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy: Past, Present, and Future (RAND, 2000). Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs. (More on Tellis - http://carnegieendowment.org/experts/198)

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Ülgen and Brattberg on Turkey's Future

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