Combating Corruption to Drive Democratic Renewal

On December 6, the Brookings Institution, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Center for European Policy Analysis, the Transatlantic Democracy Working Group, the FACT Coalition, and the Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption initiative will co-host a seminar on the fight against corruption and its relationship to advancing democracy and addressing democratic backsliding globally.   

The event will begin with a keynote address from Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury Wally Adeyemo, who will focus on the Biden administration’s domestic and international anti-corruption agenda. He will then join Brookings President John R. Allen in conversation to further address anti-corruption priorities such as advancing economic fairness, combating money laundering, stemming illicit financial flows, and implementing beneficial ownership transparency as well as opportunities for cross-sector collaboration to address these challenges.  

The panel discussion to follow will look at anti-corruption issues through the lens of the upcoming US-led Summit for Democracy and the release of the “Democracy Playbook 2021: 10 Commitments for Advancing Democracy.” This new report grounds possible commitments and deliverables to be made by governments and other participants in the summit. Expert panelists will unpack those commitments using the example of anti-corruption, but also discuss more broadly how the Summit for Democracy and the “year of action” to follow can renew and strengthen democracy, fight growing authoritarianism, and usher in an era of improved governance.  

After the session, panelists will take audience questions (time permitting). Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter at @BrookingsGov by using #DemocracyPlaybook.