This post originally appeared at https://pandemipolitics.net/uncategorized/owen The last week of March was a big day for economic news. While the IMF declared that the world economy was in a COVID-19 induced recession and Fitch credit rating agency downgraded the UK’s credit rating from AA to AA-, observers noted signs that the Chinese economy was beginning […]
PROJECT LAUNCH With Oliver Bullough and Mark Galeotti 5.30-7.00pm, Wednesday 27 February, 2019 Location: Amory 128 Russian and Eurasian organised crime has a rich history entwined with business and the state. However, in the last 20 years the ‘vory’ appear to have gone global in their links to the country’s transnational business networks. The links […]
The topic on every internationally minded Chinese person’s lips when in conversation with a Westerner appears to be the US-China trade war. The following text summarises my informal discussions over lunch and during walks, with friends and colleagues in Shanghai, on the reasons behind, and potential consequences of, growing economic tensions between the world’s two […]
One of the key features of contemporary transnational kleptocracy is how routine and commonplace it has become. Unlike their strictly illicit counterparts—narcotraffickers, smugglers, and terrorists—who operate in the shadows and conceal their transactions, the modern kleptocrat is able to openly embrace many of the innovations, institutions, and protections afforded by contemporary globalization. Today’s kleptocrats […]