Paul Massaro serves as a senior policy advisor for the US Helsinki Commission, but for those with a window into the US government’s efforts to combat global corruption, Paul’s is a household name. He is a behind-the-scenes driver of a new wave of thinking about the connection between global corruption and US national security. He spoke with Peter Glover of CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center, as part of a new mini-series focused on anti-corruption rapid response, to discuss the new surge of US government actions combatting global corruption and the increased attention on rapid response anti-corruption approaches. The conversation touches on how global corruption can affect everyday Americans — the topic of a couple of recent articles co-authored by Paul — windows of opportunity for anti-corruption reform, the importance of thinking and working politically, the concept of the role of critical junctures in institutional change, and the proposed CROOK Act. Paul is lively both as a podcast guest and on Twitter, so this episode is definitely worth a listen.

Ana Linda Solano is a professor, criminal lawyer, and former Director of Colombia’s Special Investigative Police on Economic and Financial Crimes, and this week she joins CIPE’s Anti-Corruption & Governance Center to discuss the topic of sextortion and the growing call to address the issue. Sextortion is a type of corruption which occurs when those in authority extort sexual favors in exchange for exercising their authority or providing a public service. According to pioneering work by Transparency International, it has been experienced by up to 1 in 5 women in some countries. Listen now to hear Solano break down the latest research on what drives sextortion and how anti-corruption champions can overcome barriers to addressing the issue. Solano is joined by CIPE Communications Director Ken Jaques and ACGC Associate Program Officer Staci Samuels.

For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on Democracy That Delivers, our host Ken Jaques gets the latest updates from CIPE's partner the Accountability Lab in Nepal. Our organizations work together in Nepal to strengthen a subnational environment of effective public-private sector partnerships. This episode's guests Bikin Ghimire, Communication and Product Manager, and Suvechchha Chapagain, Project Associate, speak on citizen-centric development, the Nepalese government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on business, as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by current digitalization trends in Nepal.

On this episode of Democracy that Delivers, our host Ken Jaques and co-host Lola Adekanye, CIPE Africa Team Senior Program Officer, are joined by John Arvanitis, a managing director in the Compliance Risk and Diligence practice of Kroll with almost three decades of experience in federal law enforcement. They discuss Kroll's 2021 Anti-Bribery and Corruption Benchmarking Report and the compliance risk and diligence business, from bribery and corruption to ESG and Artificial Intelligence. Listen to learn why and how organizations can identify, assess, and mitigate unique risks effectively with transparency, accountability, and compliance programs to protect their market reputation and integrity.

Maldives Anti-Corruption Commission President and Former Transparency Maldives Executive Director Mariyam Shiuna joins the CIPE Anti-Corruption & Governance Center podcast this week to share her perspective and lessons learned on the transition from being a transparency and integrity civil society leader to heading the government's newly empowered anti-corruption agency. Shiuna talks about her agency's reform agenda, including addressing weaknesses that led to 2018's high-profile MMPRC scandal that saw $200 million in government funds go missing and over 50 islands and lagoons sold via corrupt deals. Listen now to hear her insider's perspective on running a 100-employee anti-corruption agency, managing sometimes treacherous relationships with other government leaders, and how the business community can play a role in changing assumptions about corruption in the small Indian Ocean country.