Commentary
Professional indulgences: the kleptocracy problem and the transformation of global politics
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T.M.S.Mayne@exeter.ac.uk
Abstract
This article discusses the phenomenon of transnational kleptocracy and explains how kleptocrats and oligarchs have been welcomed in rule-of-law settings. The paper summarises a large body of research, including our recent book, Indulging Kleptocracy (Oxford University Press, 2025). Taking the rise of postcommunist Eurasian kleptocracy and its servicing in the UK as the context of a series of case studies, the research findings indicate that the global form and function of kleptocracy are best explained neither by patterns of geopolitics nor the corrupt power of incumbents in countries of origin but by what we call professional indulgences. These indulgences are the product of the work of professional enablers—the variously witting and unwitting, compliant and non-compliant, provision of legal, financial, and related services—across many service sectors to circumvent rules for kleptocratic elites and bring their assets, status, and influence from their countries of origin to erstwhile liberal democracies.
Keywords
kleptocracyoligarchytransnationalelitesenablingUKpostcommunismEurasiaCopyright statement
© The author(s) 2025. This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International LicenseCite this article
Heathershaw, J., Prelec, T. & Mayne, T. (2025), ‘Professional indulgences: the kleptocracy problem and the transformation of global politics’, Journal of the British Academy, 13(3): a29 https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/013.a29crossref
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This article offers an introduction to the special section about the theme of ‘African ecologies and indigenous knowledges’. It explores the interest of scholars, policy makers and activists in indigenous knowledges as a resource for addressing global challenges, particularly the challenges in relation to the environment and climate change in contemporary Africa. Reviewing current literature and discourse on the subject, this Introduction foregrounds the considerable political, epistemological and methodological significance of indigenous knowledges, especially in the light of ongoing debates about decolonisation, and it highlights their relevance for understanding African ecologies. It further introduces the three articles included in this special section, embedding them in broader fields of scholarship. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘African ecologies: the value and politics of indigenous knowledges’, edited by Adriaan van Klinken, Simon Manda, Damaris Parsitau and Abel Ugba.)
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