How Non-State Actors Export Kleptocratic Norms to the West

October 2017

Past Event

How Non-State Actors Export Kleptocratic Norms to the West

Past Event

Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters

October 11, 2017

Photo by: Ivan Vdovin

October 2017

Past Event

1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20004

Read Transcript

Speakers:

David Kramer

Senior Fellow, Florida International University’s Green School for International and Public Affairs; former Senior Director for Human Rights and Human Freedoms, McCain Institute; and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State

Louise Shelley

Director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) and Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Endowed Chair, George Mason University

Sarah Chayes

Senior Fellow, Democracy and Rule of Law Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and author of Thieves of State: Why Global Corruption Threatens Security

Ambassador Richard D. Kauzlarich

Co-Director, Center for Energy Science and Policy (CESP) and Distinguished Visiting Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Recent global events show that the post-Cold War flow of money and values was not a one-way affair. The West is witnessing an increasingly coordinated assault on its own democratic system. This destructive import of corrupt practices comes not only from post-Soviet kleptocratic regimes like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia, but also from China and other countries around the world whose ruling elites now possess far-reaching financial and political interests in the West.

On October 11th, Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative held a discussion of Ilya Zaslavskiy’s report, How Non-State Actors Export Kleptocratic Norms to the West After opening remarks by Mr. Zaslavskiy and responses by Jeffrey Gedmin and David Kramer, two expert panels explored the development of corrupt norms and the true nature of contemporary kleptocratic regimes, as well as the methods they deploy to undermine Western democracy – and what can be done to fight back.

August 2026

In-Person Event | Invite Only

Nigeria’s Crisis: Islamist Terrorists, Violent Nomadic Herders, “Bandit” Gangs, and the US Foreign Policy Response

Featured Speakers:

Matthew Boyse

The Rev. Fr. Remigius Ihyula

Joshua Meservey

Ambassador Tibor Nagy

Emmanuel Ogebe

Judd Saul

Greg Simpkins

Nina Shea

August 2026

In-Person Event | Invite Only

Nigeria’s Crisis: Islamist Terrorists, Violent Nomadic Herders, “Bandit” Gangs, and the US Foreign Policy Response

Join Hudson Institute and the Ben Franklin Fellowship for a two-panel discussion examining US policy as it confronts the crisis of terror in Nigeria.

Featured Speakers:

Matthew Boyse

The Rev. Fr. Remigius Ihyula

Joshua Meservey

Ambassador Tibor Nagy

Emmanuel Ogebe

Judd Saul

Greg Simpkins

Nina Shea

Learn More

August 2026

Virtual Event | Online Only

Beyond the Postwar Era: The Japan Innovation Party's Vision

Featured Speakers:

Riley Walters

Hitoshi Aoyagi

Alex Saito

August 2026

Virtual Event | Online Only

Beyond the Postwar Era: The Japan Innovation Party's Vision

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Riley Walters will host Hitoshi Aoyagi, member of Japan’s House of Representatives and chair of Ishin’s Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as Alex Saito, member of the House of Representatives and chair of Ishin’s Policy Research Council, for a discussion about Japan’s evolving national security and defense outlook.

Featured Speakers:

Riley Walters

Hitoshi Aoyagi

Alex Saito

Learn More

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

How Nuclear Energy Is Ensuring Europe’s Secure, Low-Carbon Future

Featured Speakers:

Martin Vladimirov

Katie Strangis

Stephen Comello

Victor Ibarra

Matthew Boyse

September 2026

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

How Nuclear Energy Is Ensuring Europe’s Secure, Low-Carbon Future

Join Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for a discussion with senior US policymakers, nuclear industry leaders, and energy experts about how enhanced transatlantic cooperation on advanced nuclear technologies, fuel-cycle resilience, and next-generation energy infrastructure can reinforce European industrial competitiveness and long-term energy security.