Fueling the Fires: How Corruption and Conflict Keep Each Other Burning

“Is there a way out? Is it possible to foster accountability and disrupt illicit economies without fueling violence?”

In a new HFG Research and Policy in Brief report, Fueling the Fires: How Corruption and Conflict Keep Each Other Burning, researchers Diana Chigas and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church of Besa Global examine the “vicious cycle” of conflict and corruption, using examples from Afghanistan, Guatemala, South Sudan, Myanmar, and beyond.

In this upcoming Knowledge Against Violence speaker series event, the authors will discuss the complex interdependence between conflict and corruption, and explain how corruption can become an entrenched feature of political economies and a major obstacle to building a lasting peace once war ends.

Join us to discuss this and more on Wednesday, February 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Register here.

Speakers

Diana Chigas is codirector of the Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program at Besa Global and professor of the practice of international negotiation and conflict resolution at the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Her current research focuses on how social, gender, and faith norms influence corruption and anticorruption in conflict- affected settings. She has worked with governmental, nongovernmental, and intergovernmental partners across Africa, Europe, and the US to support corruption analysis and program design.

Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church is executive director of Besa Global and codirector of the Corruption, Justice and Legitimacy Program. A practitioner-scholar with extensive experience in peacebuilding, governance, and anticorruption, she has worked across the Balkans, West Africa, and East Africa, pioneering the application of systems thinking to corruption analysis and the role of social norms in driving corruption.