Armed conflict and large-scale post-war recovery fundamentally transform the way political power is exercised and controlled. Wartime governance is often characterized by emergency decision-making, concentration of authority, accelerated public spending, and reduced opportunities for oversight — all of which significantly increase the risks of political corruption and undue influence over public decisions. During the recovery phase, these risks may intensify further due to substantial reconstruction funding, complex governance arrangements, and increased interaction among political actors, public institutions, donors, and private interests.

Political corruption in such contexts poses a direct threat to democratic resilience. It undermines public trust, distorts political decision-making, weakens institutional legitimacy, and creates entry points for domestic and external actors to manipulate political processes. As a result, the ability of democratic systems to withstand crises, adapt to shocks, and recover sustainably becomes compromised.

Against this backdrop, digital transparency tools have emerged as critical instruments for safeguarding integrity and accountability. Digital platforms, open data systems, and technology-enabled oversight mechanisms can reduce discretionary power, increase traceability of political and financial decisions, and strengthen the role of civil society and independent oversight actors. Even when not designed explicitly to target political processes, such tools can have a significant indirect impact on limiting political corruption and reinforcing democratic resilience.

This webinar launches the RESPOND online seminar series, with the first event organised by ACREC NaUKMA with the support of S-Com. It brings together researchers and practitioners to discuss political corruption risks, digital anti-corruption tools, and democratic resilience, drawing on lessons from Ukraine with broader international relevance. Each seminar in the series is organised by a different project partner.

Speakers and topics

Andrii Biletskyi, ACREC NaUKMA
Chair / Moderator

Oksana Huss
Research Fellow, RC Trust (Research Centre Trustworthy Data Science and Security, University Alliance Ruhr, University Duisburg-Essen)
“The role of corruption and anti-corruption for resilience in Ukraine and beyond“

Marharyta Chabanna
Dr. hab. in Political Science, Chair of the Political Science Department, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
“Digital oversight against rent-seeking: social perception and public trust in wartime“

Vita Dumanska
Coordinator, CHESNO Movement
“Political finance transparency as a safeguard against political corruption: the role of the POLITDATA register“

Anastasiya Mazurok
Deputy Executive Director, Transparency International Ukraine
“Digital transparency tools and political accountability: how Prozorro and DREAM reduce political corruption risks“

Registration

Participation is free, but registration is required.
To register, please fill in the form available at the following link: https://forms.gle/jJ4o1i8ve5bSiGocA.

Registered participants will receive the Zoom link prior to the event.