Tena Prelec

D3.3 I Foreign Influence Challenges: Corrosive Capital and Disinformation in the Western Balkans and Associated Trio - Geo Power Foreign Influence Challenges: Corrosive Capital and Disinformation in the Western Balkans and Associated Trio The GEO-POWER-EU project has published a report examining how foreign influence operates a...

Our @geopower-eu.bsky.social deliverable on Foreign Influence Challenges - focusing on Corrosive Capital & Disinformation - is out! It shows how foreign influence is co-produced and draws on a rich, multi-country dataset. In-depth case studies to come. geo-power.eu/portfolio/it...

Remind me again what kind of diplomatic position is "son-in-law"?

Is "clan member" also an official representative of a democracy?

Or is this about business, not peace and the security of a sovereign country? 🤔
#kushner #ukraine #russia #trump

@vedrandzihic.bsky.social @sonjasg.bsky.social @katkusic.bsky.social @dejanstjepanovic.bsky.social @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social

Enrollment for Two New Minors is Open! | UNIRI Minor in Political Transformations (30 ECTS) War, migration, disinformation, climate collapse, and democratic erosion are reshaping politics worldwide. The Minor in Political Transformations explores…

Enrolment is open for the new English-taught Minor in Political Transformations at Uni Rijeka. We explore political change through the rule of law, IR, social theory, and engaged democracy, with a hands-on Challenge module. Apply by 31/01. Feel free to get in touch!

uniri.hr/en/vijesti/e...

Looking forward to next week's discussion of @jheathershaw.bsky.social's excellent and important book, Indulging Kleptocracy, co-authored with Tena Prelec and Tom Mayne, at @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social!

Reith lecturer accuses BBC of cowardice for censoring his remarks on Trump Dutch writer Rutger Bregman says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removed

This reminds me of when our paper on kleptocracy and reputation laundering was edited by Chatham House after legal threats from someone who made his money from kleptocracy and was laundering his reputation. Similar cowardice from the embattled BBC. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Consultants, capture, and kleptocrats: how professional service providers enable corruption

Professional enablers often work behind the scenes—but their influence can drive corruption and state capture. Join our GI ACE roundtable with @lizdavidbarrett.bsky.social, @devipillay.co.za, Alex Cooley, @jheathershaw.bsky.social, Corentin Cohen and @tenaprelec.bsky.social

🔗 bit.ly/GIACERoundtable

Weds 26/11 in London - looking forward to this discussion, alongside co-author Tom Mayne, hosted by the Transparency International Professional Supporters Network. Link to register www.tipsnetwork.org/events/indul...

Authors: @vedrandzihic.bsky.social on BiH, @jomarovic.bsky.social on Montenegro, @markokmezic.bsky.social on Serbia, @donikaemini.bsky.social on Kosovo, @ndimitrov.bsky.social on North Macedonia, and Gjergji Vurmo on Albania.

#EUEnlargement The European Commission has released its annual country reports. Wondering what’s new on the Western Balkan front, how countries compare to previous years, and what the key takeaways are? BiEPAG has you covered: www.biepag.eu/blog

The Incumbency Advantage and the Enabler Effect: How Londongrad Beat the UK Anti-Money Laundering Regime The emergence and survival of ‘Londongrad’, despite the UK anti-money laundering regime, is an intellectual and policy conundrum. We analyse an original dataset of £2 billion of domestic real estat...

open access: read the full article here www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

New OA article @europe-asia.bsky.social: The Incumbency Advantage and the Enabler Effect: How Londongrad Beat the UK AML Regime

Drawing on £2bn of property data, we show that not a single incumbent kleptocrat (0/72!) lost their UK assets.

with @jheathershaw.bsky.social T. Mayne & S. Tokubayev

It was great to have you with us, Filip & @eui-eu.bsky.social team!

Long overdue, but wonderful to celebrate together: Croatia has joined the European University Institute. Looking forward to new generations of PhDs, postdocs, and academic collaboration with Europe’s best and brightest.

Democracy, security, enlargement, and the future of Europe – these were just some of the big topics discussed at this year’s #CresSummerSchool.
As a result, 18 young people from 13 European countries wrote a joint op-ed:
🗞️ This is the state of our Union!
👉 europeanwesternbalkans.com/2025/10/20/t...

Grateful to @uisweden.bsky.social for hosting my talk on Serbia’s unrest in Stockholm last night. A full house, thoughtful questions from diplomats, academics & the wider public — a real sense that Serbia’s democratic experiment, and its civic energy, resonate far beyond its borders.

Image: Darko Vojinovic/TT

📢 Tomorrow Assistant Prof. @tenaprelec.bsky.social @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social will present findings on how public attitudes toward democracy & governance in 🇷🇸 have evolved since the 2024 protests from the #GEOPOWEREU project at an event hosted by our consortium partner UI Sweden.🔗 shorturl.at/EzjMF

@tenaprelec.bsky.social presents the notion of #corrosivecapital: econtent.pedis.uop.gr/jmc-eupf-wb/... 3/6.

The Incumbency Advantage and the Enabler Effect: How Londongrad Beat the UK Anti-Money Laundering Regime The emergence and survival of ‘Londongrad’, despite the UK anti-money laundering regime, is an intellectual and policy conundrum. We analyse an original dataset of £2 billion of domestic real estat...

In @europe-asia.bsky.social we (@tenaprelec.bsky.social et al) show how Londongrad beat the UK AML regime via the incumbency advantage (political elites being in power or favour at home) & enabler effect (networks of highly-skilled legal & financial professionals)
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Does State Capture Facilitate Strategic Corruption? Scholars have suggested that great powers seeking to engage in strategic corruption, particularly through corrosive capital, target countries where there are governance weaknesses. This article res...

New paper!

Q: Does State Capture Facilitate Strategic Corruption? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A: Not necessarily. Even where states are deeply captured, supra-national and domestic institutions with oversight functions can create regulatory barriers

A blog I’ve written about the contested concept of Strategic Corruption - more to come (follow @soc-ace.bsky.social if you’d like to hear more!)

I’d like to thank @isrfoundation.bsky.social for their support for this project - wonderful foundation, pursuing a truly innovative approach to research.

*New & open access*
We draw on our book Indulging Kleptocracy, reflecting on the importance of networks - even more than states, we argue - in today’s global order.

@oxfordacademic.bsky.social
@jheathershaw.bsky.social
@britishacademy.bsky.social

journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/articles/13/...

@tenaprelec.bsky.social Tom and I wrote this paper based on @oxunipress.bsky.social Indulging Kleptocracy for @britishacademy.bsky.social journal.

Our global future will be increasingly kleptocratic unless govts enforce their own laws.
journal.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/articles/13/...

Great to see this paper out. Whatever sensitive topic one might tackle - whether it is war crimes, corruption or others - the phenomenon of secrecy in closed institutions is one that raises imp questions, esp. in (semi)authoritarian contexts. Congrats @lanabi.bsky.social @denisakost.bsky.social

💥Free online conference by the the Italian Institute for the Future.
I could only participate yesterday, but fascinating talks upcoming e.g. @miasmafactory.bsky.social, @tenaprelec.bsky.social, @jlmarti.bsky.social

www.instituteforthefuture.it/frontiers-of...
#philsky #futurestudies #polisky

📢 On 20 May, Dr. @tenaprelec.bsky.social & Dr. @sonjasg.bsky.social presented at the 🇪🇺 Parliament Library, sharing insights from Indulging Kleptocracy and research from #GEOPOWEREU on corrosive capital.

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/45O7iiP

Ditto. I’d like to make sure my research is “in sync” with Trump administration so I’m still able to visit the US, but I’m not sure whether he wants to use our book as a how-to guide for indulging kleptocrats.
@tenaprelec.bsky.social

🔊Listen to the ep.15 of
🎙️Seriously Balkans - The #BiEPAGtalks

🔹What the new German Government means for the Balkans

Host:
@fbieber.bsky.social
Guests:
Frauke Seebass, Fellow at @swp-berlin.org & Researcher @dgap.org
Adnan Ćeramagić, Senior Analyst, ESI

🎧 tinyurl.com/5n9y55u8

Full house - and a great discussion - at yesterday’s launch event of ThinkEurope in Ljubljana. I represented @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social bringing in some @geopower-eu.bsky.social research into the mix. Good luck to our friends Sabina Lange and Zoran Nechev with this new venture

Next week in the European Parliament!

We’re bringing the fight against enabling to the heart of 🇪🇺

@agillies.bsky.social on enabler networks
@sonjasg.bsky.social on corrosive capital
and your faithful trio on Indulging Kleptocracy

Register: ep-events.secure.europarl.europa.eu/greensefa/ev...

YouTube video by Spotlight on Corruption Helen Taylor introduces Spotlight's "Gatekeepers, enablers or technicians?" report

📽️ Watch Helen, our Senior Legal Researcher, talking about the findings of our “Gatekeepers, enablers or technicians?” report, which unpacks the different labels used to describe the role of UK lawyers in combatting #kleptocracy, #statecapture and grand #corruption.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVix...