We are pleased to announce that the RESPOND project will participate in the 28th World Congress of Political Science, organised by the International Political Science Association (IPSA), which will take place in Seoul, South Korea, from 12 to 16 July 2025.

RESPOND researchers contribute to four panels that critically address the evolving field of corruption and anti-corruption studies, showcasing the project’s interdisciplinary approach and its strong commitment to fostering global dialogue on political integrity, democratic resilience, and the structural dynamics of undue influence. 

The first panel, entitled “Critical Reflections on (Anti-)Corruption: Assessing Emerging Concepts, Metrics, and Theories”, is co-chaired by Fernanda Odilla (RESPOND) and Manoel Gehrke (BRIDGE GAP), and convened by Giovanna Rodriguez-Garcia. Designed as an open and inclusive space for theoretical and empirical reflection, this panel invites scholars from diverse methodological backgrounds to critically reassess how corruption and anti-corruption are conceptualised, measured, and experienced in different parts of the world. Particular emphasis is placed on the need to decentre dominant Northern perspectives and to include alternative imaginaries and practices from the Global South. By doing so, the panel aims to contribute to a much-needed expansion of the conceptual and empirical horizons of corruption studies.

RESPOND researchers will present a range of papers that exemplify this critical and interdisciplinary spirit: 

• Players, Arenas and their Relational Dynamics in the Corruption of Politics and Polity

Author: Dr. Fernanda Odilla

Co-Author(s): Miss Alice Fubini (RESPOND), Prof. Alice Mattoni (RESPOND)

• Rethinking Transnational Corruption: How Financial Centers in the Global North Enable Money Laundering from the Global South

Author: Ms. Irene Tello Arista,

• The Effects of Generic and Specific Question-Wordings on Perceived Corruption: A Survey Experiment

Author: Dr. Giovanna Rodriguez-Garcia

Co-Author(s): Dr. Ilona Wysmułek (RESPOND)

• Unmasking Barriers: Practical Challenges Mitigating Strategic Corruption

Author: Dr. Ingrida Kerusauskaite

Co-Author(s): Dr. Caryn Peiffer 

RESPOND will also take part in a second panel titled “Paradoxes in Anti-Corruption Governance”, which delves into the complex and often unintended consequences of anti-corruption strategies. Co-chaired by Giovanna Rodriguez-Garcia and by Manoel Gehrke, with both Gehrke and Odilla acting as discussants, this closed panel brings together critical scholarship on the ways anti-corruption efforts intersect with broader governance systems, political power dynamics, and institutional structures.

This panel will feature the following papers:

• All the King’s Men: Selectivity in the Russian Anti-Corruption Reforms

Author: Mr. Alexey Konov

• Anti-Corruption Crusades and Democratic Erosion: Evidence from Central America

Author: Dr. Rachel Schwartz

• Business Interactions with Government: The Global Political Economy of Administrative Burdens and Corruption

Author: Ms. Denisse Rodriguez-Olivari (BRIDGEGAP)

• Can red flag indicators, typically used to monitor corruption risks in public procurement, also help assess the systemic effects of regulatory reform?

Author: Ms. Maria Claudia Filippone

• In the End, Nothing Else Matters: Experiences of the Mexican Anti-Corruption National and Local Systems

Author: Mr. Gabriel Rojas Salazar

• Robin Hood Bias and Corruption into the Public Sector: A Vignette Experiment with University Students

Author: Prof. María Cecilia Urcia

In addition, Luís de Sousa (RESPOND) will be co-chairing with Manuel Villoria the panel “Understanding Political Ethics Regulation: Theory, Strategy, Practice, and Impact”, featuring the following papers: 

• A systemic view of political ethics regulation

Author: Dr. Manuel Villoria

• Dishonourable Friends: How Elected Officials Frame the Ethics of Lobbying

Author: Prof. Luc Juillet

• The Genesis of Political Will: Understanding Inputs and Drivers in Anti-Corruption Reforms

Author: Dr. Susana Coroado

• The Global Magnitsky Act as an Instrument of Political Ethics Regulation: The Case of Bulgaria

Author: Prof. Daniel Smilov

• What is Political Ethics Regulation? – Concepts, Theories and Strategies

Author: Dr. Denis Saint-Martin

Co-Author(s): Dr. Luis de Sousa

Luís de Sousa is also the chair, along with Grzegorz Makowski, of the panel Are Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) Contributing to Knowledge-Based Anti-Corruption? – A Tribute to Professor Jon S.T. Quah. 

Papers

• A Proposed Taxonomy of Anti-Corruption Agencies

Author: Dr. David Sotola

Co-Author(s): Dr. Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez

• Anticorruption Agencies, Political Knowledge, and Non-Domination: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Author: Dr. Matteo Bonotti

Co-Author(s): Mr. Sovannara Lim

• Playing Good and Bad Policeman. Polish and Lithuanian Experience in the Creation, Operation and Reforms of Central Anti-Corruption Bodies

Author: Prof. Grzegorz Makowski

• The National Anti-corruption Authority (Anac) in the Path of Evolution of the Italian Corruption Prevention System

Author: Dr. Francesco Merenda

Co-Author(s): Prof. Enrico Carloni