Rate My Professor Robert Barrington

Robert Barrington is Professor of Anti-Corruption Practice (Politics) in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex, affiliated with the Centre for the Study of Corruption. He earned a BA (Hons) in Modern History from Oxford University (1984-1987) and a PhD from the European University Institute, where his research examined Anglo-Venetian relations in the 16th century. Barrington's career spans anti-corruption advocacy and academia. From 2013 to 2019, he served as Executive Director of Transparency International UK, the UK chapter of the world's leading anti-corruption NGO. In this role, he led campaigns instrumental in advancing the UK Bribery Act, the national Anti-Corruption Strategy, and Unexplained Wealth Orders. He subsequently chaired Transparency International's International Council from 2020 to 2022. Prior affiliations include advisory roles with the UK Cabinet Office Procurement Transparency Advisory Panel (2019-2021) and as technical advisor for the International Corporate Governance Network's Guidance on Anti-Corruption Practices (2020).

Barrington's research specializations center on anti-corruption practice, understanding how corruption operates in practice, governance integrity, and professional enablers of corruption in sectors such as finance, law, and business. His scholarly contributions include editing the Dictionary of Corruption (Agenda Publishing, 2023), co-edited with Elizabeth Dávid-Barrett, Rebecca Dobson Phillips, and Georgia Garrod, which provides a comprehensive resource of definitions and analysis for students, academics, and practitioners. Other outputs encompass reports such as 'The governance of the UK's response to corruption: who is in charge?' (2020) and contributions to parliamentary evidence on corruption risks. At the University of Sussex, he teaches and supervises on the MA in Corruption and Governance program, including dissertation modules. Barrington's influence extends to public policy through committee submissions, media commentary on corruption scandals, and international panels, enhancing anti-corruption frameworks in the UK and beyond.