When
Tuesday, 24th March 2026, from 6pm - 7:00pm GMTWhere
Online via Zoom.Format
There'll be a great line-up of speakers plus ample scope for discussion and debate.Join us for a compelling discussion with Laurence Cockcroft, co-founder of Transparency International and author of Global Corruption: Money, Power and Ethics and Unmasked: Corruption in the West.
In this event, we will use Laurence’s books as a starting point for a wider conversation about corruption and its role in shaping political and economic systems. Drawing on the themes explored in his writing, Laurence will share his own reflections and insights developed over decades of experience working in the field of anti-corruption. Rather than simply revisiting the arguments of the books themselves, the discussion will use them as a springboard to explore how corruption operates in practice today, both globally and within Western democracies.
This event offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of the leading voices in the global fight against corruption, as he reflects on the ideas in his work and shares his personal perspective on how corruption continues to shape the world today. Join us for what promises to be a thought-provoking and wide-ranging discussion.
About the books...
How corrupt is the West? Europe and North America’s formal self-perception is one of high standards in public life. And yet, corruption is receiving ever greater attention in the European, American and Canadian press, with high-profile cases affecting both the corporate and political worlds.
This book identifies the driving forces behind such cases, particularly the role of political finance, lobbying, the banking system and organised crime. It analyses the sectors which are particularly prone to corruption, including sport, defence and pharmaceuticals.
In the course of their investigation, the authors consider why anti-corruption legislation has not been more effective and why there is an increasing discrepancy between regulation and commercial and cultural practice. Are Europe and the US genuinely serious about fighting corruption and if so what measures will be taken to roll it back?
Corruption has played a pivotal role in determining the current state of the world – from mass poverty in developing countries, to the destruction of natural resources and to the erosion of trust in political parties.
Laurence Cockcroft here argues that corruption has to be seen as the result of the interplay between elite embedded networks , greed and organised crime. He shows how the growth of corruption has been facilitated by globalisation, the integration of new and expanding markets into the world economy, and by the rapid expansion of offshore financial facilities.
These facilities provide a home to largely unregulated pools of finance derived from personal fortunes, organised crime and pricing malpractice in international trade. By identifying the main drivers of corruption world-wide and analyzing the current action to control them, this book suggests ways in which the problems caused by corruption can be addressed and ultimately prevented.
About the author...
LAURENCE COCKCROFT
Laurence Cockcroft has been actively involved in the fight against corruption since 1991, when the proposal to develop what became Transparency International (TI) was first discussed. His work in the previous twenty five years had mainly focused on rural development in Africa where he could see that corruption had become a major threat to progress.
He joined the first international board of Transparency International in 1993 and at the same time was a key player in establishing Transparency International in the UK, and was Chairman of TI-UK from 2000-8 (and remains an adviser to the organisation). His work with Transparency International has included initiating its programme on the ‘Business Principles for Countering Corruption’ – widely adopted as a basis for corporate codes of conduct ; launching work to combat corruption in the defence sector (now Transparency International’s Defence and Security Programme) ; and promoting the UK Bribery Act which came active in 2011 and has become the basis for a series of cases in transnational corruption brought by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.
