In this new episode of the Democracy that Delivers podcast, Adam Sachs, Program Manager for the Center for Digital Economy and Governance (CDEG), discusses the results of a recent study characterizing Colombian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their levels of digital adoption with Luz Stella Gómez, Manager of Financing and Technological Capabilities at iNNpulsa Colombia, and Pablo Lemoine, President of the Centro Nacional de Consultoría. This survey was conducted with input from 4,000 companies throughout Colombia, including those in regions most affected by conflict, a ..read more

Corruption has long troubled Thailand, halting economic growth and the development of democratic regimes. Attempts at fighting corruption from civil society and governmental procedure have done little to stymie corrupt exchange and have facilitated a culture of corruption across branches of Thai society. With aid from various local and international organisations, the Thai private sector appeared as the unique champion to fight corruption via the Thai Collective Action Against Corruption (Thai CAC) – a movement designed to unite Thai businesses and consolidate a foundation and framework for an ..read more

Beginning in November of 2013, then President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych withdrew from a long-desired and promised EU trade agreement in the interest of consolidating a kleptocratic regime with Russia. The events ignited a series of both violent and non-violent large-scale protests in Kyiv, spanning many months. The protests, named ‘Euromaidan’ shifted the tide in Ukrainian politics and represented one of Ukraine’s largest ever collective action movements against corruption and kleptocracy.   Vladimir Dubrovsky is this episode of Collectively Combating Kleptocracy’s guest, joining CIPE ..read more

In 2018, widespread protests dislodged a decades-long kleptocratic regime in Armenia. Known as the Velvet Revolution, these protests represented a culmination of decades of civil society organization and activism and the first surge of revolutionary action against Serzh Sargsyan following his attempt to cling to power.   In this episode of Collectively Combating Kleptocracy, Gayane Abrahamyan, an award-winning journalist and social justice activist, who served as a member of the Armenian Parliament as part of the My Step alliance, joins the host, Max Levites (Senior Governance Specialist ..read more

The 1Malaysia Development Berhard scandal (1MDB Scandal) is known  as one of the world’s most prolific financial scandals. With billions lost as a consequence of fraudulent activity by a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, the scandal saw a huge backlash from Malaysian citizens, the media, and civil society organisations alike. In this episode, P. Gunasegaram, an Independent Journalist and author of 1MDB: The Scandal That Brought Down A Government, joins the host, Max Levites (Senior Governance Specialist, International Republican Institute), to discuss the history and context of the s ..read more

In April of 2015, a telephone wiretap exposed Guatemala’s then-President Otto Pérez Molina, his Vice President Roxana Baldetti, and and other high-ranking officials in the tax and customs administration as having been part of a kleptocratic network involving fraud in customs revenues. The La Línea case, a reference to the wiretap, is known as one of the most high-profile corruption cases in the country’s history, enraging the people of Guatemala, who joined mass protests to demand accountability and dislodge kleptocracy. Hugo Novales Contreras, a political researcher and advisor to the Bernard ..read more

CIPE’s Asia Director speaks with two young professionals in Bangladesh to learn their perspectives and first-hand accounts of the political crisis currently unfolding in the country. Civic unrest sparked by university student protests in June led to the fall of a government barely a month later, and the man who is perhaps Bangladesh’s most famous citizen is now the head of an interim government. What is life like in Bangladesh today? How are people running their businesses? Is there reason for optimism? This episode of Democracy that Delivers discusses these questions and more. Speaker Bios Sh ..read more

Ahead of the annual FEDN conference, we invited two of our FEDN members to discuss opportunities and challenges to democratic institutions in the Asia-Pacfic region. CIPE’s Tamari Dzotsenidze hosts Reiner Heufers of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies and Robin Sitoula of the Samriddhi Foundation in Nepal for a lively conversation on present and potential future of South Asian democracies. Listen to insights on how businesses and governments are working towards greater prosperity for all on this week’s Democracy that Delivers ..read more

This episode of the Democracy That Delivers podcast focuses on the SAHA Project, a CIPE initiative aimed at improving healthcare governance in Tunisia. Dr. Fatma Habboubi, the project manager, explains how the project, funded by the U.S. Department of State, seeks to enhance the healthcare system through legal and regulatory reforms. These reforms include clarifying the organization of public health facilities, simplifying pharmaceutical pricing, establishing a framework for continuous professional development, and creating a professional order for allied health professionals. The discussion h ..read more

This Democracy that Delivers episode delves into the complexities of the investment landscape in Argentina. Lesly Rubio, Senior Program Manager of CIPE’s Latin American Programs, is joined by the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) Senior Program Manager, Demian Gonzalez, and the American Chamber (AmCham) in Argentina Public Affairs Director, Marina Senestro to discuss Argentina’s recent and ongoing economic transformations.  The podcast examines Argentina’s decades of political and economic fluctuations, and its current volatile financial ..read more