RC20 - Political Finance and Corruption

Dear RC20 members and colleagues, As preparations for the 2027 IPSA World Congress gather pace, we are delighted by the strong response to RC20’s panels and grateful to colleagues who have already submitted their work. This enthusiasm reflects the breadth of questions our community is bringing to debates on political finance, corruption and democratic accountability. IPSA has extended the deadline for paper and closed panel submissions to 11 November 2026. We encourage colleagues to use this additional time to join us in Rome from 24 to 28 July 2027. The Congress theme, Uncertain Democracies: Rethinking Governance in a Changing Global System, provides a timely setting for examining how money and influence shape institutions and how accountability can be sustained under pressure. This issue also marks an important development in our committee’s identity. RC20 is now officially named Political Finance and Corruption. The new name recognises the range of work represented in our community, including public–private relationships, anti-corruption institutions, whistleblowing, lobbying and illicit financial flows, while retaining political finance as a central concern. The November Nesletter that has been circulated to our RC20 members, offers new opportunities to contribute to this agenda. They include a call for an open access Encyclopaedia of Family Corruption, the OECD Anti-Corruption Research Challenge, journal special issues and academic positions. We also highlight forthcoming discussions in Geneva, online seminars and the International Anti-Corruption Conference in the Dominican Republic. Our research selection connects these opportunities to recent work on institutional recovery, political finance oversight, climate adaptation and the organisational conditions behind integrity failures. Together, these contributions show why research across disciplines and regions remains essential to understanding corruption and evaluating responses to it. Thank you for contributing proposals, sharing publications and strengthening the conversations that sustain RC20. We look forward to continuing this work with you and to meeting in Rome. With best wishes, Luís de Sousa Chair, IPSA RC20 Email: luis.sousa@ics.ulisboa.pt Guillaume Fontaine Co-Chair, IPSA RC20 Email: gfontaine@flacso.edu.ec