The Autocracy-Kleptocracy Initiative

The Autocracy-Kleptocracy Initiative at the Hudson Institute examines the growing threat posed to Western democracies by autocratic rule. The Achilles’ heel of autocracy, as the fall of Ukrainian autocrat Yanukovych showed, is the exposure of the massive and often hidden financial mechanisms used to shelter misappropriated assets.

The initiative analyzes and designs financial countermeasure policy options aimed at limiting the ability of autocratic leaders hostile to the United States and Western democracies to abscond with national assets and to use those assets to limit Western policy flexibility. It publicizes its work to a broad audience via its website and a documentary film in production, as well as via briefings for policymakers and journalists in the U.S. and overseas.

The website provides a resource for policy professionals in and outside of government, as well as the public-at-large:

• Library of books, articles, database of documents
• Text, podcasts, and video based on the policy studies and meetings organized
• Links to other organizations working on related issues