Using Universities to Launder Reputations

John Heathershaw of the University of Exeter discusses the working paper he co-authored for the National Endowment for Democracy: “Paying for a World Class Affiliation: Reputation Laundering in the University Sector of Open Societies.” He shows how vulnerable universities are to abuse by kleptocrats seeking to shape the conversation, often quite subtly, about their governments and their legacies.

Episode resources: 

• Paying for a World Class Affiliation: Reputation Laundering in the University Sector of Open Societies, a working paper by Alexander Cooley, Tena Prelec, John Heathershaw and Tom Mayne for the National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies, 25 May 2021
• For related work, visit the Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence project.