Yusuke Ishikawa ’s Research

Yusuke Ishikawa is Research Fellow and Digital Communications Officer at Asia Pacific Initiative (API) and Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG). His research focuses on European comparative politics, democratic backsliding, and anti-corruption. He also serves as External Contributor for Transparency International’s Anti-Corruption Helpdesk, as Visiting Research Fellow at the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, and as Part-time Lecturer in European Affairs at the Department of Economics and Business Management, Saitama Gakuen University. Prior to his current roles, he was Research Associate at IOG and API, contributing to its translation project of <i>Critical Review of the Abe Administration</i> into English and Chinese. Previously, he has worked as Research Assistant for API's CPTPP program and interned with its Fukushima Nuclear Accident and Abe Administration projects. His other experience includes serving as a full-time research intern at Transparency International Hungary and as a part-time consultant with Transparency International Defence & Security in the UK. His publications include "NGOs, Advocacy, and Anti-Corruption" (In <i>Routledge Handbook of Anti-Corruption Research and Practice</i>, 2025) and <i>A Dangerous Confluence: The Intertwined Crises of Disinformation and Democracies</i> (Institute of Geoeconomics, 2024). He has been featured in national and international media outlets including <i>Japan Times</i>, <i>NHK</i>, <i>TV Asahi</i>, <i>Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)</i>, <i>Handelsblatt</i>, <i>Expresso</i>, and <i>E-International Relations (E-IR)</i>. He received his BA in Political Science from Meiji University, MA in Corruption and Governance (with Distinction) from the University of Sussex, and another MA in Political Science from Central European University. During his BA and MAs, he also acquired teacher’s licenses in social studies in secondary education and a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language) certificate. [Concurrent Positions] Visiting Research Fellow, EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, Czechia External Contributor Consultant, Anti-Corruption Helpdesk, Transparency International Secretariat (TI-S), Germany Part-time Lecturer, Department of Economics and Business Management, Saitama Gakuen University, Japan