The Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security (ACDS) project at Brookings tackles the world’s thorniest anti-corruption problems—the ones that most profoundly impact global democracy and security. The kleptocracy fueled Russian invasion of Ukraine. Dubious state-fostered business practices in countries like China. The exponential growth of the green energy transition—with its equally explosive corruption risks. And much more.
We bring together scholars and practitioners from around the world to investigate the challenges, analyze the evidence, and galvanize collective action. We fight corruption in ways that strengthen democracy and improve global security.
Although the challenges are great, we are at an inflection point for change. Initiatives such as the Summit for Democracy have elevated the importance of advancing sustainable and successful anti-corruption efforts on the global stage. Building on the network and learnings of our Leveraging Transparency to Reduce Corruption (LTRC) initiative, the ACDS team’s proven strengths in multistakeholder collaboration, research, and analysis will help seize this crucial moment.
Our theory of change: With strong and diverse partnerships, platforms for action-focused research and cross-learnings, and clear metrics to measure progress, the key actors in government, civil society, and the private sector will pursue the actions needed to address the world’s most profound corruption challenges.
Our goal is to equip good governance champions with the knowledge, tools, and connections they need as they work to make and fulfill their anti-corruption commitments—and take action to strengthen democracy and improve global security.