CERC Public Seminar: 'Corruption, Organised Crime, and Trafficking in Europe: An Update'

Tuesday 11 Sept, 1:00-2:00pm
at Room 212, Level 2, 234 Queensberry Street, The University of Melbourne

presented by

Prof Leslie Holmes

(Deputy Director CERC, Professor Dept of Political Science, University of Melbourne)

Abstract

Leslie Holmes has been researching corruption for more than 20 years, but still has much to discover. In recent times, his research has indicated the need to consider collusion between corrupt officials and organised crime gangs if he is to gain a better understanding of corruption. In order to analyse the linkages empirically, he is exploring the role of both officials and gangsters in human trafficking. He presented some of his early findings at a CERC conference last December. In today's seminar, he will update the findings and analysis, considering in depth, for instance, the recently exposed (May 2007) Saxony scandal in eastern Germany, plus recent revelations from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and elsewhere.

Biography

Leslie Holmes has been a Professor of Political Science at the University of Melbourne since 1988, and is Deputy Director of CERC. He was President of the International Council for Central and East European Studies (ICCEES) 2000-2005, and President of the Australasian Association for Communist and Post-Communist Studies 2005-2007. His most recent books are Rotten States? Corruption, Post-Communism and Neoliberalism (Duke University Press, 2006), and the edited collection, Terrorism, Organised Crime and Corruption: Networks and Linkages (Edward Elgar, 2007).