Stuart Hopper

DPhil Research Topic

"Historical phenomena behind understandings of corruption - exploring the relative effects and interdependence of history, political structures and normative frameworks in the development and perception of modern-day corruption in Nigeria" 

Supervisor: Michael Odijie

Research Background: having previously studied (in the context of Ghana) the question of whether non-economic factors—specifically social norms—are a critical element to understanding the phenomenon of structural transformation, and querying why their influence is not better reflected in the structural transformation literature, I am now expanding this line of enquiry into an exploration of whether historic social norms are a critical element to the understanding of the modern phenomenon of corruption, again querying if their influence has been reflected in the historical literature. My current research is an investigation into whether the existence of forms of behaviour similar to what we now understand as ‘corruption’ existed in Nigeria’s pre-colonial antecedents and continue to influence its post-colonial trajectory as well as an exploration of why ‘corruption’ is perceived in the way it is. As such, while rooted within Global Imperial History, my research also sits across African Studies as well incorporating elements of law, anthropology and economics.

General Background: I am a qualified lawyer with 25 years’ experience as a practitioner, and the founder of a consultancy advising law firms on strategy and innovation in the delivery of their services. I am also a Visiting Lecturer at the Law Faculty in Oxford. My DPhil journey is the next stage in a semi-perpetual cycle of inquisitiveness...

Born in Ethiopia and with British/Nigerian heritage, I am an active champion of diversity, equality and inclusion, and am currently on the board of an Africa-wide STEM educational charity for girls and an observer on the board of a Uganda-based charity working to provide extended family care to children as an alternative to orphanage placement. I am a LawTech UK mentor, a member of the Lawtech Sounding Board at the City of London, and set up (and chair) the Industry Mentor Group for Oxford University’s postgraduate Law & Computer Science Programme.

Publications: contributing author to Legal Due Diligence in International M&A Transactions - A Practitioner's Guide (Kästle/Svernlöv eds, 2022); quoted in Professional Services Leadership Handbook: How to lead a professional services firm in a new age of competitive disruption (Beddow, Kent, Furner & Clark 2017); editor of Baker McKenzie’s International Joint Ventures Handbook (1st ed. Oct 2015) and Baker McKenzie’s Global M&A Handbook (1st ed. Mar 2015); author of “Legal Service Delivery: Project Management & Knowledge Management - Friends Ever After?” in Legal Monitor, Jun 2014; and co-author of “The rise and rise of the Auction Process - Some Trends Within the Trend” in Bloomberg European Business Law Journal (2007) Vol. 1 Issue

Academic and Professional Qualifications:

• MA African Studies (Distinction) - SOAS, University of London (dissertation on economic anthropology);
• MBA - Henley Business School (dissertation on behavioural change in law firms);
• BA (Jurisprudence), MA - Oxford University;
• Admitted as a solicitor (non-practising) of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and the British Virgin Islands.