The Centre for the Study of Corruption

The Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC) is an internationally renowned centre of excellence for research and teaching on corruption, widely recognised for combining cutting-edge academic approaches and research with practical experience of how corruption can be addressed in the real world.

Read about our Governance & Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence programme building a body of research that provides evidence for anti-corruption policy-making.

About us

A lecturer giving a seminar in the Freeman building

Research

Lecturer Sam Power giving a lecture in front of a smartboard

Courses and teaching

Policy

Two students on laptops in a University cafe

KickBack podcast and Blog

Case studies

The Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex

Video transcript
(Video opens with an animated University of Sussex Logo)

Corruption is everywhere; in politics, in business, in sport…

… and all across the world.

Corruption includes:
- Bribery
- Embezzlement
- Money-laundering
- Falsified evidence
- Match-fixing
- and Election fraud.
Corruption occurs in developed and developing nations.

It destabilises economies and societies.

Resulting in inequality, danger and misery for millions of people.

(Animation shows a large group of people protesting holding placards and megaphones)

The University of Sussex is home to the internationally renowned Centre for the Study of Corruption.

(Animation shows the Falmer Quad entrance to the University of Sussex with a number of people walking around)

With specialists in almost every aspect of corruption, it’s the only centre in Europe taking an interdisciplinary view of the problem.

(Animated typography on screen with phrases: Corruption and gender, Corruption in geographical context, Political Lobbying, Populist autocrats, Corruption in sport, Global money laundering, Government Contracting, Corruption in politics, Corruption in international business, Transnational offending, Human trafficking)

Professors Dan Hough, Liz David-Barrett, Robert Barrington, and colleagues are developing innovative approaches and influencing real-world policy and practice.

(Animation shows the three academics walking along before cutting to a closeup of them writing in notebooks and working with a tablet device)

They’re also training the next generation of anti-corruption professionals.

(Animation shows the three academics by the Falmer Quad entrance to the University of Sussex with their backs to us and waving at three other people in capes who are waving back and then flying into the air in a superhero pose and off screen)

Choose from two Master courses including an online one you can do from anywhere.

(On screen animated typography reads ‘Corruption and Governance MA’ and ‘Corruption and Government MA (online)’)

We’ll prepare you for multiple career paths and help you build global networks.

Join us and continue the international fight against corruption.

(Video ends with an animated University of Sussex logo and a web address:

‘www.sussex.ac.uk/scsc')
Upcoming and recurring events

Corruption movie nights

An event for faculty and MA and undergraduate politics students in which the CSC shows a corruption-themed film, followed by a discussion over pizza. Recent showings include Frost-Nixon.

Tuesday research lunches

CSC faculty, PhD researchers and MA students meet for lunch to discuss research and current affairs.

Past events

Many of our past events can be viewed on the Centre for the Study of Corruption’s YouTube channel.

Kleptotour

London coach tour of properties owned by kleptocrats and their associates in collaboration with ClampK, open to MA and undergraduate politics students.

CSC Summer Academy 2023

A 3-day course for current students and alumni of our MA courses.

Ethics and the Civil Service - Past, Present and Future

Convened by Dr Ian Cawood, Univeristy of Stirling, in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex. The theme of the conference will be 'where are we on standards in UK public life - and where next?' and 'how did we get here - and what lessons can we learn?'

Download the programme [PDF 1002KB]

Anti-Corruption Agencies – recent developments

The Centre for the Study of Corruption convened a panel of experts to discuss the role of anti-corruption agencies or ethics and integrity commissions as a potential tool in a country’s anti-corruption governance structure. Panellists discussed conditions for a successful ACA, political challenges in the setup process, powers and resourcing, and the best way to integrate an ACA’s responsibilities with existing agencies.

Onyi Ough on storytelling as an anti-corruption tool

Onyi Ough is an international development practitioner specialising in anti-corruption and service delivery. Onyi founded Step Up Nigeria, an NGO which focuses on strengthening service delivery by tackling corruption. She spoke to the CSC about using the power of stories to educate on the impact of corruption, relaying her experience as the author of four children’s books and co-producer of two animated films on the subject. Halima’s Vote recently won Best International Film at the 2022 Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI).

In conversation with Ismael Ahmed

Ismael Ahmed is Founder and Chairman of WorldRemit, one of the world’s largest digital payments companies. He is a former researcher at the University of Sussex and later became a corruption whistleblower at the UN. Recently, Israel launched the Sahamiye Foundation, which is focussed on using technology and innovation to tackle Somaliland’s most pressing development challenges, focussing on education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Israel joined Prof. Robert Barrington for a discussion about his life and work.

Lessons from the EITI with Mark Robinson

Executive Director of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Mark Robinson, visited the CSC to share the initiative’s experiences in trying to tackle corruption in oil, gas and mining. Mark discussed the EITI’s successes, as well as where the challenges lie, and outlined how the EITI brings together governments, civil society and companies to promote governance reforms in the extractives industries.

London’s Anti-Corruption Summit – 5 years on: new dawn or false dawn?

On the fifth anniversary of the 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit, the CSC brought together some of the key players at the time to look at the successes and failures of the original event and the Summit’s legacy five years on. The panel included: Prof. Liz Dávid-Barrett and Prof. Robert Barrington from the CSC, B-Team’s Jameela Raymond, Chatham House’s Creon Butler, and Sarah Chayes, author of Thieves of State and Everybody Knows: On Corruption in America.

Centre for the Study of Corruption – research seminar series

In 2021, the CSC ran a public research seminar series in which faculty and researchers presented their current research projects. Topics included:

·         Prof. Robert Barrington – The Governance of Corruption in the UK

·         Dr. Roxana Bratu – How do new technologies redefine corruption?

·         Rebecca Dobson Phillips – Corruption in the UK: what does corruption mean in this democracy?

·         Dr Sam Power – Money in Politics

Tweets by Sussex_SCSC

Contact us

Email:
E.David-Barrett@sussex.ac.uk

Telephone:
+44 (0) 1273 872929
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You might also be interested in:

The Centre for the Study of Corruption

About us

Research

Courses and teaching

Policy

KickBack podcast and Blog

Case studies

The Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex

Upcoming and recurring events

Past events

Contact us

You might also be interested in: