Professor Liz Dávid-Barrett, Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption in the Faculty of Social Sciences, has won the 2024 Ideas Prize for non-fiction. 

Her proposal, Power Grab: Opportunists, Populists and the Changing World Order, was selected for the £25,000 prize, which includes a publishing deal with Profile Books and representation by Aitken Alexander Associates. Power Grab will be published in spring 2027. 

The winning proposal offers an eye-witness account of the rise of grand corruption and the resulting threat to democracy. Drawing on her extensive experience working with governments, the private sector, and NGOs, Liz examines how state capture occurs, why it persists, and what can be done to prevent it. 

Liz leads research, teaching, and policy impact initiatives at the Centre for the Study of Corruption. She serves as Deputy Director of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office-funded Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme. Liz has advised numerous governments and international organisations on anti-corruption policies and is a board member of Transparency International UK. 

Liz said: “I started my career as a journalist working in Eastern Europe in the late 1990s. One of the big stories at the time was the capture of the state by oligarchs in Russia - and similar patterns were seen in a few other countries. But at the time we thought it was a temporary problem that would disappear with democratisation.

“In fact, the opposite has happened. State capture has taken root in several democracies around the world. What is happening in the United States right now is the latest proof that nowhere is immune. The book tries to explain how it happens, why it’s difficult to reverse, and what we can learn from countries like South Africa and Sri Lanka that have managed to call a halt to capture. I think it’s important to tell that story.” 

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Rosie Cox, said: “I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate Liz on being awarded the Ideas Prize for 2024, recognising the strength of her proposal which promises to shed light on state capture and threats to democracy. Liz continues to lead and advise on important anti-corruption initiatives with governments and organisations worldwide. Her years of experience and analysis in this area bring unique insight and I very much look forward to the publication of her book in spring 2027.”