The Taliban is Vulnerable. Here's How to Seize the Moment

Nov 13, 2021

With Afghanistan's new rulers finding governing more difficult than insurgency, now is the time to leverage any financial assistance to get them to abide by their own commitments.

Opinion | The Taliban Is Vulnerable. Here’s How to Seize the Moment

Nov 13, 2021

The Taliban is tottering; Afghanistan is in chaos. This offers the West unprecedented leverage over a foe it couldn’t beat on the battlefield.

Trudy Rubin: Pandora Papers focus on corruption abroad, but what about thieving here?

Oct 7, 2021

Interview with Sarah Chayes, a leading expert on global and U.S. corruption networks and the links between them and author of “Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security, followed by On Corruption in America, and What Is at Stake.”

The Taliban Seizure of Afghanistan was long -- and invisible -- in the making

Aug 16, 2021

How do we suppose a ragtag militia lurking in the hills — as we’ve so often heard the Taliban described — managed to execute such a sophisticated campaign plan with no international support?

Impeachment or Not, Justice Department Must Investigate Trump

Jan 13, 2021

Neither Biden nor the Attorney General should make this call. An independent task-force should determine whether there are grounds for criminal prosecution.

Sarah Chayes on Wade Davis

Dec 1, 2020

A magnificent love song to the country of Colombia, told by way of its national river (Book review)

Why Biden Should Look Beyond the Usual Pool for His Cabinet Appointments

Nov 20, 2020

Biden ran on a promise to restore integrity... to Washington. Yet names of prospective nominees suggest he will be drawing from corporate networks that have served their members at the expense of the American public.

Corruption at the Core: Bill Moyers talks with Sarah Chayes

Sep 22, 2020

Chayes has a new book — ON CORRUPTION IN AMERICA: AND WHAT IS AT STAKE

Sarah Chayes' New Book Examines 'Corruption In America'

Aug 11, 2020

Author Sarah Chayes has investigated corruption in places like Afghanistan and Nigeria. She wondered if the U.S. was corrupt. NPR's Noel King talks to her about her book: "On Corruption in America."

Sarah Chayes on Zephyr Teachout

Jul 28, 2020

A splendid book about ... the excessive power of mega-corporations in our society, and how they are turning all of us into their serfs.

Look Out, Corruption Ahead

Apr 17, 2020

The Atlantic: As the country mobilizes to address the pandemic, watch for officials and corporate executives attempting to exploit the crisis to enrich themselves.

This Is How Kleptocracies Work

Feb 23, 2020

Trump’s pardons were shocking to some, but to me they were eerily familiar...

Sarah Chayes on Amaryllis Fox

Jan 31, 2020

As good as fiction! In more ways than one. (Review of "My Life Undercover." Subscribe to Book Post for the unabridged version.)

Russia Is Waging Asymmetric Warfare Against the US — And We’re Letting Them Win

Dec 18, 2019

Moscow is using the type of tactics I first saw the Taliban master in Afghanistan.

Hunter Biden's Legal, Socially Acceptable Corruption

Sep 27, 2019

Americans of both parties should stop leveraging their names for payoffs from shady politicians and businessmen -- and the rest of us should stop condoning that business model

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Acting DNI Shows Why Generals and Admirals Should Not Become Top Civilians

Sep 27, 2019

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire got in over his head on the Ukraine whistleblower complaint.

Fighting the Hydra: Lessons From Worldwide Protests Against Corruption

Apr 12, 2018

In the past half decade, uprisings against corruption has broken out worldwide. The frequency and significance of these events forces the question: What is going on? And does this international phenomenon hold lessons for others beset with systemic political corruption, not least in the United States? A look at countries as diverse in culture and political history as Brazil, Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Lebanon, Romania, South Africa, and South Korea suggests that it does.

Want to Limit Migration? We Can Start by Supporting Democracy in Honduras.

Dec 5, 2017

The US should not support a rigged presidential election. Such antics destroy the hopes of Honduran citizens -- and force them to flee a brutal regime.

Do Trump’s Foreign Business Entanglements Threaten Our Democracy?

Oct 17, 2017

The Trump Organization’s continued business dealings with foreign governments, both at home and abroad, challenge the core principles of U.S. democracy.

Kleptocracy in America

Aug 15, 2017

Corruption Is Reshaping Governments Everywhere (Review of The Corruption Cure)