Interview with researcher David Aled Williams

Authors

Keywords:

environmental governance, climate policy, integrity-based approaches

Abstract

In this exclusive interview for the Special Issue on Climate Change: Socio-environmental Governance and Integrity, Dr. David Aled Williams, senior researcher at the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, discusses the intersections between corruption, environmental governance, and climate policy. Interviewed by Joachim Stassart (University of British Columbia), he highlights the conceptual and theoretical challenges in defining corruption within the context of climate governance and calls for a broader understanding grounded in political ecology. Williams also examines how corruption can shape institutional behavior, capture policy processes, and undermine environmental outcomes. Drawing on his extensive research in Southeast Asia, he illustrates how illicit networks and rent-seeking practices distort natural resource governance and hinder collective action against climate change. Finally, He emphasizes the importance of translating academic knowledge into practice, offering examples where research has informed anti-corruption frameworks in environmental impact assessments. The interview underscores the need for interdisciplinary and integrity-based approaches to address the systemic nature of corruption in environmental governance.

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Author Biographies

  • Dr. David Aled Williams, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway – Senior Researcher | U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre – Principal Adviser

    Dr. David Aled Williams is a political scientist focused on aid effectiveness, corruption, and natural resources, using political economy and political ecology approaches. Williams' PhD is from the Department of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. The thesis combined ethnographic fieldwork in Central Sulawesi and Jakarta with satellite and survey data, to produce a political ecology of REDD+ in Indonesia since 2010.

    Williams' research interests revolve around the uneven politics of natural resource-driven economic development, particularly corruption, neoliberal environmentalism, hypercapitalist growth, indigenous peoples rights, green energy transitions and inequality. Geographically, his focus is on Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

    Williams has served as project lead for longer-term commissioned research projects from Norad and USAID, as well as shorter reviews and evaluations. He is also co-coordinator of U4's thematic portfolio on Corruption and Anti-Corruption Efforts in Natural Resources and Energy Sectors.

    Williams was previously Senior Research Coordinator at Transparency International in Berlin and holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Kent (UK).

  • Joachim Simon Stassart, University of British Columbia, Faculty of Forestry, Canada

    Joaquim Simon Stassart is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Forestry. He is passionate about land conflicts and deforestation in Brazil and is analyzing those issues through a political ecology lens. His research is inspired by his experience at Transparency International Brazil, where he worked on the linkages between corruption, land grabbing and environmental crimes. He holds a M.A. from Sciences Po Paris and a B.A. from Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium.

References

Baker, J. (2020). Corrupt networks in the Indonesian forestry sector: Politics and pulp in Pelalawan, Riau (U4 Issue 12). U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute. https://www.u4.no/publications/corrupt-networks-in-the-indonesian-forestry-sector

Robbins, P. (2000). The rotten institution: Corruption in natural resource management. Political Geography, 19(4), 423–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0962-6298(99)00087-6

Williams, A., & Dupuy, K. (2017). Deciding over nature: Corruption and environmental impact assessments. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 65, 118–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2017.05.002

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Published

2025-12-04

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 32 (2025): Revista da CGU, 32, jul-dez/2025

Section

Mudanças Climáticas: Governança e Integridade Socioambiental

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How to Cite

Interview with researcher David Aled Williams. Revista da CGU, [S. l.], v. 17, n. 32, 2025. Disponível em: https://revista.cgu.gov.br/Revista_da_CGU/article/view/890. Acesso em: 6 dec. 2025.

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