Democracy & Governance study trip to Riga

Students from the MA programme in Democracy and Governance went on a two-day study tour to Riga on April 20-21 as part of a special course on “Corruption and Anti-Corruption”. The tour covered a wide range of topics including the work of anti-corruption agencies, the role of the media in exposing corruption, shifts in popular attitudes toward corruption as well as NGOs that engage in advocacy work.

“During the tour we found out that while over the last decade petty corruption in Latvia has gone down, political corruption remains a problem with high-placed business elites and politicians often cutting questionable deals,” said Prof. Vello Pettai, instructor for the special course.

A highlight of the trip was a visit to the Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB), where staff explained Latvia’s anti-corruption policies as well as regulations on party finance. The group also met with Delna (the Latvian branch of Transparency International), Providus (an independent think-tank) and investigative journalists from the magazine Ir, the news-site Re:Baltika and the Latvian Television program “De Facto”.

For more information, please contact: Professor Vello Pettai, vello.pettai [ät] ut.ee, phone 737 5335.

Forwarded by:
Maili Vilson
Research Communication Specialist
Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies
maili.vilson [ät] ut.ee
737 6584