RUSI's CFS Launches New Project: Influence Conduits in UK Politics and Policy
The new project from RUSI's Centre for Finance and Security examines how think tanks and other policy organisations can act as opaque conduits for translating foreign funding into undue political and policy influence.
The recent Rycroft Review identified the important and legitimate role think tanks play in democratic debate, while also warning of the ‘real risk’ such organisations may be used as ‘conduits’ for foreign interference.
The Influence Conduits in UK Politics and Policy project, with funding from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, will map the financial pathways domestic and foreign actors use to support think tanks, policy organisations and other intermediaries, and assess where a lack of transparency can create risks of undue influence.
Tom Keatinge, Director of CFS at RUSI, said:
The UK has moved to strengthen the rules governing donations to political parties, but influence does not stop at the edge of the political finance system. Think tanks and other organisations can provide expertise, ideas and access that are enormously valuable to policymakers. The challenge is to ensure that this is not exploited by actors seeking to unduly influence UK politics without scrutiny.
Tom Keatinge
Director, CFS
The project will be supported by a series of events, with the findings published in a research report in 2027.
Eliza Lockhart, CFS Senior Research Fellow and project lead, said:
This form of undue influence is particularly difficult to detect and regulate. Unlike a political donation, it may not involve a clear transactional moment or be subject to any financial reporting requirements. Instead, it operates by buying credibility, access and agenda-setting power, with financial resources shaping which ideas reach policymakers and how they are understood.
Eliza Lockhart
Senior Research Fellow
Visit the Influence Conduits in UK Politics and Policy project page to find out more.
