Workshop: New Trends in Political Financing Regulation in Asia and Europe

Political financing regulation is a body of principles, rules and procedures through which parties attempt to limit the undue influence of money in politics. In most countries state bodies such as governmental departments, national electoral commissions, specialised financing monitoring bodies were entrusted or created to monitor and enforce political and financial regulations.

The list of corrupt practices experienced in Asia and Europe associated to party and election financing is widely known to decision-makers and the public at large: favouritism and malpractice in public procurement, distortion of privatisation processes, selective licensing, abuse of public resources for campaigning, creation of slush funds in state-owned enterprises and public bodies etc.

This 2-day workshop will look at what can be learned about a self-regulating body by looking comparatively at different regulatory experiences that have evolved across countries in Asia and Europe.

Drawing from different regulatory experiences and multi-disciplinary perspectives in both Asia and Europe, the workshop aims to:

• Examine existing bodies and mechanisms overseeing political financing.
• Discuss the challenges and trends facing political financing today, particularly in Asian and European democratising countries.
• Promote a professional network to discuss and exchange knowledge-based, innovative and integrated methods of strategies and activities regarding political financing.
• Contribute to closer and informal relationship between different national actors in Asia and Europe.