A few thoughts from me in @wort.lu on the EU’s new enlargement proposals. Attn to good governance cannot stop at accession. Goal should be: clear post-accession safeguards, while avoiding a permanent 2nd tier of membership. Montenegro can become an important test case. www.wort.lu/internationa...

🎙️ New BiEPAG Podcast: The EU-Balkans Roundup #1. Florian Bieber, Damir Kapidžić, Donika Emini & Tena Prelec take stock of Serbia's election, Bosnia's vote, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers verdict and the EU's changing pull in the region. 🎧 Listen: open.spotify.com/episode/69Hz... #BiEPAG

JOIN US! Conducting Research on Illicit Finances & Professional Enablers Date: 16 June 2026 Venue: Public Library, Maqsut Narikbayev University, Astana With @tenaprelec.bsky.social docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Conducting Research on Illicit Finances & Professional Enablers

Research Seminar: Conducting Research on Illicit Finances & Professional Enablers This seminar will provide participants with insights into contemporary research on illicit financial flows, financial ...

docs.google.com

Rijeka, Palazzo Modello, 07.03. - svi ste pozvani / all welcome / siete tutti i benvenuti! We'll mark the beginning of the Minor in Political Transformations with an all-star panel: Anastas Vangeli, Elvio Baccarini, Senada Selo Sabic & @vedrandzihic.bsky.social. csmk.uniri.hr/en/dogadjanj...

Thrilled that Dr Barbara Frey has been awarded an MSCA PF under my supervision for ENVIJUST-WB, an urgent and important project on environmental justice in the Balkans. The only MSCA at the University of Rijeka this year, and one of just two in Croatia. csmk.uniri.hr/en/dr-barbar...

Corrosive capital is not business as usual, but not corruption either. Explains @tenaprelec.bsky.social to Népszava. @carnegieeurope.bsky.social study examines some typical projects from the Western Balkans nepszava.hu/3308849_korr...

Balkáni mini-Dubajok és Trump-tornyok – Jön a korrozív tőke, nem ismer törvényt, megveszi a politikát

Nem minden befektetés jó üzlet, a Nyugat-Balkánon Dubajból és immár Washingtonból is érkező úgynevezett korrozív tőke a kutatók szerint sok kárt okozhat.

nepszava.hu

David Lammy announces the new UK anti-corruption strategy at Mansion house yesterday, just three years overdue. Evidence from our @oxunipress.bsky.social @tenaprelec.bsky.social Indulging Kleptocracy is cited. But will the many incremental changes proposed fix a problem which is transnational?

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...

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...

geo-power.eu

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

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...

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…

uniri.hr

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!

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...

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

theguardian.com

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

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

bit.ly

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...

#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

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.

Filip Kostelka@filipkostelka.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Last week, I presented my research at the University of Rijeka (@unirijeka.bsky.social) during an event celebrating Croatia's accession to @eui-eu.bsky.social. I am grateful to the session's chair, Tena Prelec (@tenaprelec.bsky.social), & the audience for great questions & engagement.

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.

📢 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.

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....

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...

tandfonline.com

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

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...

tandfonline.com

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.

Independent Social Research Foundation@isrfoundation.bsky.social · last yr.

Strategic Corruption - A Useful Concept or a Catch-All? Drawing on insights from a recent ISRF-funded workshop, @tenaprelec.bsky.social reflects on the affordances and limits of the concept of #StrategicCorruption. #Corruption #InternationalRelations #Democracy isrf.org/blog/strateg...

*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

Lanabi@lanabi.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨⚖️🔍 New paper in Journal of Genocide Research with @denisakost.bsky.social & Timothy Waters we studied secrecy in Serbia’s war crimes trials. 📑Corpus of 164 judgements (1999–2019). Tried OCR+quant methods, but chaotic redactions made it impossible. So we wrote a descriptive, mixed-methods paper

💥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

Brian Taylor@bdtaylor-su.bsky.social · last yr.

Secretary McMahon, I'd like to make sure my Russian politics research is "in sync" with "what the administration is trying to accomplish," but I'm having a hard time figuring out what that is. Is Putin a very good friend who wants to look good and wants peace, or has he gone crazy? Please advise.