About this item
A stunning investigation and indictment of a segment of the United States' foreign lobbying industry, and the threat to end democracy.. For years, one group of Americans has worked as foot-soldiers for the most authoritarian regimes around the planet. In the process, they've not only entrenched dictatorships and spread kleptocratic networks, but they've secretly guided U.S. policy without the rest of America even being aware. And now, some of them have begun turning their sights on American democracy itself.. These Americans are known as foreign lobbyists, and many of them spent years ushering dictatorships directly into the halls of Washington, all while laundering the reputations of the most heinous, repressive regimes in the process. These foreign lobbyists include figures like Ivy Lee, the inventor of the public relations industry -- a man who whitewashed Mussolini, opened doors to the Soviets, and advised the Nazis on how to sway American audiences.
About the Author
I'm a writer, analyst, and investigative journalist working on topics ranging from kleptocracy, illicit finance, and foreign interference to developments in the post-Soviet space and dark money financing networks. My first book - AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY: How the U.S. Created the World's Greatest Money Laundering Scheme in History - centers on America's transformation into the world's greatest offshore haven, and what that means for the rest of us. (The book will come out Nov. 2021 from St. Martin's Press, and is available for pre-order here. ) I received my Master's degree in Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe Studies from Columbia University's Harriman Institute, and my writing has appeared in outlets like Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, Vox, The New Republic, POLITICO Magazine, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, and a bunch of other outlets. I'm also a member of the Advisory Council for the Hudson Institute's Kleptocracy Initiative, where I help co-host the "MAKING A KILLING" podcast on how corruption and kleptocracy is shaping everything around us.
