David Szakonyi

David Szakonyi is Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, co-Director of PONARS Eurasia, and co-founder of the Anti-Corruption Data Collective. His academic research focuses on corruption, clientelism, and political economy in Russia, Western Europe, and the United States. His most recent book -- Politics for Profit: Business, Elections, and Policymaking in Russia (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics, 2020) -- examines why businesspeople run for political office and how their firms benefit. He has also led numerous investigations into political corruption and opacity in the private equity and real estate industries published in Bloomberg, Le Monde, Washington Post, the Daily Beast, and the Miami Herald, among other outlets. He received his PhD in political science from Columbia University and his BA from the University of Virginia.