Authoritarian regimes like Russia and China use malign finance—the funding of foreign political parties, candidates, campaigns, well-connected elites, or politically influential groups, often through non-transparent structures designed to obfuscate ties to a nation state or its proxies—to interfere in democracies. Find ASD’s work on malign finance and the threat it poses to democracy on this page.
Policy Paper
Treasury's War on Corruption
Treasury Should Publish a National Corruption Risk Assessment
Summary Recommendation Within the first 100 days of the Biden administration, the U.S. Treasury Department should publish its first-ever National Corruption Risk Assessment about the financial networks of oligarchs and kleptocrats, reviewing case st [...]
Josh Rudolph Explains How the United States Can Combat Russian Kleptocracy on ‘The Power Vertical’
Malign Finance Fellow Josh Rudolph joined "The Power Vertical" to discuss how the Biden administration can combat corruption and kleptocracy. Russia’s banks can be as dangerous as Russia’s tanks. Corruption is the new Communism. The Kremlin’s black [...]
Here and Now: Chinese Interference in the Transatlantic Space
For several years, the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) has been monitoring and cataloging instances of authoritarian interference in the transatlantic space. In 2018, ASD launched the Authoritarian Interference Tracker, an online database that [...]
The End of Anonymous Companies and the Rise of Corporate Transparency: The Campaign Moves from Congress to Statehouses
A Truly Historic Achievement Transparency advocates begin 2021 in a jubilant mood, as Congress on New Year’s Day overrode President Trump’s veto to pass the annual defense spending authorization. Included as a part of that law was the Corporate Tran [...]
Spies and Money: Legal Defenses Against Foreign Interference in Political Campaigns
Executive Summary In recent years, U.S. government officials have normalized a damaging notion: that soliciting or participating in foreign interference in a U.S. election will not be prosecuted. Foreign governments from Beijing to Moscow and else [...]
Zack Cooper and Laura Rosenberger in Foreign Affairs: Democratic Values Are a Competitive Advantage
The contest with authoritarianism requires the United States to understand its strengths. Upon winning the presidency, Joe Biden promised to lead “not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.” That pledge is important, because [...]
Treasury’s War on Corruption
Executive Summary: Mobilize the Regulatory Arsenal The incoming Biden administration has signaled through speeches, articles, and interviews that one of its top policy priorities will be combating corruption and kleptocracy.See Vice President Joe [...]
Our Experts’ 2021 Foreign Interference Policy Wishlist
Every December, the Alliance for Securing Democracy team tries to take a step back and look at the foreign interference landscape, and to take stock of where new laws and policies would have the greatest impact at strengthening our institutions from [...]
2021 NDAA: Malign Finance, Cyber Operations, and Artificial Intelligence Take Center Stage in Congress’ Fight against Authoritarian Interference
The United States Congress passed the William M. Thornberry Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, an annual bill (generally known as the NDAA) that designates funding for the Department of Defense, on a bipartisan basis. Priorities outline [...]
ASD Event Summary: Linking Values and Strategy: How Democracies Can Outcompete Autocracies
On December 10, the Alliance for Securing Democracy hosted a virtual event with Ambassador Eric Edelman, Ambassador Samantha Power, and Dr. Kori Schake on steps the United States can take to regain the initiative in the emerging competition with aut [...]
Linking Values and Strategy: How Democracies Can Outcompete Autocracies
Ambassador Eric Edelman, Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at John Hopkins’ Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Co-Chair of ASD’s Offset Strategy for Democracies Task Force Ambassador Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor of the Practi [...]
Zack Cooper in Financial Review: Free Nations Must Speak for Australia
Co-Director Zack Cooper and Oriana Skylar Mastro write that the Biden administration needs to rethink the entire nature of alliances for an era of heavy-handed economic diplomacy from Beijing. Australia's trials are not the first time Beijing has u [...]