How Corruption Breeds Global Instability

Mon. April 27th, 2015
Brussels

The world seems to be on fire—the spread of the Islamic State in Iraq, the endurance of Boko Haram in Nigeria, the East-West standoff in Ukraine. Is there a common thread tying these events together? In her latest book, entitled Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security, Carnegie’s Sarah Chayes identifies an unexpected link: corruption.

Viewing corruption as a cause and not a result of global instability, how should the EU change its understanding of the phenomenon, and what should it do to raise the priority of tackling it at home, in its neighborhood, and abroad?

To mark the European launch of Thieves of State, Carnegie Europe hosted the book’s author Sarah Chayes in conversation with Jan Techau for a lively Q&A session.

Sarah Chayes

Sarah Chayes is a senior associate in the Democracy and Rule of Law Program and the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jan Techau

Jan Techau is director of Carnegie Europe.

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.
event speakers

Sarah Chayes

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.

Jan Techau

Director , Carnegie Europe

Techau was the director of Carnegie Europe, the European center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Techau works on EU integration and foreign policy, transatlantic affairs, and German foreign and security policy.