As oligarchic influence reshapes political and economic systems worldwide, scholars and practitioners gathered at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government on October 28 for “The Oligarchs’ Grip: Wealth, Power, and the Future of Democracy,” a conversation examining how concentrated wealth influences markets and democratic institutions alike.
Moderated by Janine R. Wedel, Distinguished University Professor at Mason and a leading expert on corruption and informal governance, the panel featured David Lingelbach of the University of Baltimore; Valentina Rodríguez Guerra of the Center for the Study of Oligarchs; Karen Greenaway, former FBI supervisory special agent; and Irena Lasota, prominent journalist and long-time advocate for democratic movements across Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Together, the panelists bring experience spanning entrepreneurship and emerging markets, transnational organized crime investigations, and decades of democratic engagement in post-communist societies. Their recent work—including The Oligarchs’ Grip: Fusing Wealth and Power—has shaped contemporary debate on how global elites fuse wealth and influence across borders.
The conversation explored how today’s transnational oligarchs amass power through informal networks, evade oversight, and challenge democratic resilience, as well as strategies for promoting accountability, including transparency measures, civic participation, and independent investigation. The Q&A was initiated by Schar School Professor and former U.S. Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich, who invited discussion of how oligarchic systems vary across regions and what mechanisms remain for defending accountability. The event was organized by the Schar School’s Corruption, Networks, and Transnational Crime (CONTRA) research hub. The full discussion is available to watch online.