Sarah Chayes
{
"authors": [
"Sarah Chayes"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [
"Anti-Corruption"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "DCG",
"programs": [
"Democracy, Conflict, and Governance"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [],
"topics": [
"Democracy",
"Global Governance",
"Civil Society"
]
}Source: Getty
Breaking the Wall of Corruption: Why Curbing Kleptocracy Is Essential to Global Security
The network model, or operating system model, of corruption creates a serious security risk because it risks driving citizens to violence and joining insurgent groups.
Carnegie’s Sarah Chayes discussed the network model, or operating system model, of corruption with audiences at the Falling Walls conference in Berlin. She explained that this style of corruption, which inflames the indignity of average citizens, creates a serious security risk because it risks driving those citizens to violence and recruitment in insurgent groups. Additionally, this kind of kleptocratic network operation can also be found operating in force in the developed world, she added. She said that the key to fighting it involves developing widespread social sanctions against it and by keeping it non-partisan.
About the Author
Former Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Sarah Chayes is internationally recognized for her innovative thinking on corruption and its implications. Her work explores how severe corruption can help prompt such crises as terrorism, revolutions and their violent aftermaths, and environmental degradation.
- China Financial Markets testCommentary
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- New Approaches to Defending Global Civil SocietyResearch
New thinking is needed on how global civil society can be protected. In an era of major-power rivalry, competitive geopolitics, and security primacy, civil society is in danger of getting squeezed – in some countries, almost entirely out of existence.
Richard Youngs, ed., Elene Panchulidze, ed.
- How Europe Can Survive the AI Labor TransitionCommentary
Integrating AI into the workplace will increase job insecurity, fundamentally reshaping labor markets. To anticipate and manage this transition, the EU must build public trust, provide training infrastructures, and establish social protections.
Amanda Coakley
- European Democracy Support Annual Review 2025Paper
European democracy support strategy in 2025 prioritized protecting democratic norms within Europe. This signals the start of a structural recalibration of the EU’s approach to democracy support.
- +6
Richard Youngs, ed., Elena Viudes Egea, Zselyke Csaky, …
- What Can the EU Do About Trump 2.0?Article
Europe’s policy of subservience to the Trump administration has failed. For Washington to take the EU seriously, its leaders now need to combine engagement with robust pushback.
Stefan Lehne
- Taking the Pulse: Is It Time for Europe to Reengage With Belarus?Commentary
In return for a trade deal and the release of political prisoners, the United States has lifted sanctions on Belarus, breaking the previous Western policy consensus. Should Europeans follow suit, using their leverage to extract concessions from Lukashenko, or continue to isolate a key Kremlin ally?
Thomas de Waal, ed.