News

• Win for Sussex’s Professor Liz Dávid-Barrett secures a £25,000 publishing deal with Profile Books. 
  
  
• The proposal, Power Grab, explores grand corruption, state capture, and threats to democracy. 
  
  
• Due to be published by Profile Books in spring 2027. 

Professor Liz Dávid-Barrett, Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, 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. 

Her 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, Dávid-Barrett examines how state capture occurs, why it persists, and what can be done to prevent it. 

Prof Dávid-Barrett is the fourth recipient of the award, which is organized by Izzy Everington, editorial director at Profile Books, and Chris Wellbelove, director and head of books at Aitken Alexander.  

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

Prof Liz Dávid-Barrett, said:  

“I’ve been reporting, analysing and tackling corruption for more than 20 years, during which time the assumption has been that democratic institutions offer the path to progress. 

“But democracy is being hijacked by opportunists, even in the West. They shamelessly break and rig rules to gain power, steal assets and avoid prosecution. I think it’s important to tell that story.” 

Izzy Everington and Chris Wellbelove said:  

“We are so excited to work with Liz on Power Grab. A hugely impactful insight into the grand scale of corruption and the resulting state capture, this is an urgent political read that makes sense of the global state of democracy in our age.” 

Profile Books will publish Power Grab in spring of 2027. 

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