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
Coordinating the War on Corruption
Economic Statecraft Toward China from Trump to Biden: More Continuity Than Meets the Eye
In the final year of the Trump administration, the U.S. government issued a flurry of actions related to China, utilizing a diverse basket of economic statecraft tools in furtherance of national security objectives.The Trump administration’s tariffs [...]
Josh Rudolph Discusses U.S. Anti-Corruption Policy with CAP
The fight against corruption has emerged as a defining struggle of our era and a key area of emphasis for the Biden administration and Congress. In late May, the White House designated combating corruption as a core national security interest, an un [...]
Defending Democracies Against Autocratic Advances
Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt led a conversation on democratic competition with autocracies at GMF's Brussels Forum. She was joined by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin; National Institute for Civil Discourse Executive Director Carolyn J. Lukensm [...]
Investing in Resilience
Program Manager and Fellow Nad’a Kovalčíková led a discussion on how and why NATO member states can build up their democratic, societal, and economic resilience at NATO 2030 at Brussels Forum with U.S. Representative Gerald Connolly; Tania Latici, a [...]
Biden Puts Oligarchs on Notice
While President Joe Biden’s critics have been arguing that sitting down with Putin on June 16 would look weak and wobbly, White House officials have kept their heads down and laid the groundwork for what could become the most sweeping policy initiat [...]
Belarus Is Part of Europe’s Russia Problem
For years, Alexander Lukashenko has been a problem frequently discussed but easily forgotten. When Belarus forced Ryanair flight FR4978 to land in Minsk and arrested Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega, it took away the freedom and security not only [...]
Josh Rudolph Discusses Treasury’s Role in Confronting Kleptocracy with Trace International
Malign Finance Fellow Josh Rudolph discusses how we should approach corruption and kleptocracy from a policy perspective and why Treasury needs to "get with the program." Related reading: Coordinating the War on Corruption by Josh Rudolph Treasury [...]
Josh Rudolph Discusses Alternative Measures for Combating Corruption on ‘Making A Killing’
Josh Rudolph and Abigail Bellows join Nate Sibley to explore how diplomacy, foreign development aid, and financial policy can be leveraged against kleptocracy. Casey Michel and Paul Massaro discuss the hijacking of an airliner by Belarus. [...]
Kristine Berzina and Josh Rudolph Talk the Geopolitics of Nord Stream 2 on ‘The Power Vertical’
It was always going to be a difficult needle to thread. The Biden administration clearly views Russia’s Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline as a geopolitical project that threatens European energy security and that of Ukraine and eastern flank NATO a [...]
Josh Rudolph in Foreign Affairs: The Fight Against Corruption Needs Economists
The U.S. Treasury Department must make it a priority, Malign Finance Fellow Josh Rudolph argues in Foreign Affairs. Combating corruption and kleptocracy has traditionally been an afterthought in U.S. foreign policy: a goal that most policymakers c [...]
Coordinating the War on Corruption
Executive Summary The Biden administration has a historic opportunity to unify U.S. domestic and foreign policy through an aggressive mission to combat corruption and kleptocracy. Middle-class Americans are frustrated by perceptions of corruption [...]
Josh Rudolph Talks Sanctioning Russia on ‘The Power Vertical’
How do you sanction a problem like Russia? For nearly a decade, the United States and its allies have been levying sanctions against Moscow in an effort to deter its revanchist behavior and contain its malign influence activities. And over this per [...]