Join us for a discussion with Michael Derrer on his trilogy, which rethinks what is commonly called corruption by examining it not as a series of isolated illegal acts, but as a structured form of informal governance embedded in systems of power, protection, and resource control. Drawing on thirty years of fieldwork, including fifty-five interviews conducted in Kyiv and Moscow in 2021, Derrer’s trilogy traces how these practices endure, adapt, and persist even through periods of reform. It offers a deeply researched account of the ways informal systems operate alongside formal institutions, shaping access, enforcement, and political authority across changing contexts. In this talk, Michael Derrer will explore the trilogy’s central arguments through CODYREF, a framework of twelve interlocking mechanisms that maps how access, protection, and enforcement are distributed. Together, these insights offer a new way to understand corruption as a durable, evolving system of governance rather than simply a matter of individual wrongdoing.

A light lunch will be provided.