SOC ACE Webinar: Corruption, Informal Welfare, and the Politics of Survival in Pakistan – 5 February 2026 @ 10am GMT

Join SOC ACE researchers - Dr Zahid Mumtaz and Dr Caryn Peiffer - for a webinar exploring the complex relationship between corruption and informal security welfare regimes, with Pakistan as a case study. In contexts where formal welfare systems are weak or inaccessible, people often depend on kinship ties, community structures, and patron‑client networks for social protection.

The speakers will examine the dual role of corruption: while it undermines formal welfare provision, it can also function as a survival mechanism for those excluded from official support. Drawing on their recent paper and their SOC ACE project, the panel will outline a nuanced framework for understanding corruption’s place within informal welfare regimes, highlighting its path‑dependent nature.

They will present policy recommendations that encourage and empower reformers to distinguish between corruption that erodes welfare equity and corruption that compensates for systemic failures.

The panel will also consider how collaborative efforts involving state and non‑state actors, including NGOs and religious institutions, can support more inclusive solutions. Ultimately, they will emphasise and examine politically feasible, context‑sensitive reforms that strengthen formal welfare systems without destabilising the informal mechanisms on which many people rely.

Register for the zoom webinar event here .