Secrecy, kleptocracy & transnational expertise

• Department of History

Organised by the Economic History and Ideas working group, this event features a discussion with Jean Monnet Fellow Brooke Harrington.

Over a century ago, Georg Simmel noted that the need for secrecy unites the nobility with criminal gangs in their quest for power and resources. This insight finds its most vivid contemporary expression in the offshore financial system, where trillions in private household wealth—totaling at least 12% of global GDP—circulates largely outside the rule of law, fueling economic inequality. This system has created a multi-national elite which has grown nearly ungovernable, threatening democracy, capitalism, and even the natural environment. The talk will offer a sociological analysis of the agency and mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, emphasising the transnational experts who design and manage the offshore financial sector and their connection to other cross-border professionals—the subject of my new project at the EUI.

Please register to get a seat or to receive the ZOOM link