Case Centre resources

Considered the hub of Nigeria’s North-West region, Kaduna straddled the country’s north/south divide along ethnic, religious, and political groups. The state had experienced periods of violence since the 1980s, which often stemmed from religious and ethnic differences and were reinforced by perceived social and economic disparities. In the 2010s, conflict had intensified, particularly with the rise of criminal gangs and the depletion of natural resources. In 2017, in a new approach to promote peace and prevent conflict, the state established the Kaduna State Peace Commission (KSPC). 

Priscilla Ankut, a Kaduna native with a background in international development, became its first chief executive. She initially made progress building bridges across historically hostile groups, but by 2021, increasingly felt that her work was more palliative than structural. Moreover, violence had worsened over the period, and the death toll was rising. Then in August 2021, Ankut was presented with a new career opportunity that made her reconsider her role: an offer for a high-level job at the African Union. She had to decide if she should remain at the commission, where progress, at times, seemed counter-productive in the face of rising conflict or take the new job and let someone else take charge.

Soledad Núñez was offered the role of housing minister of Paraguay in October 2014, a ministry with a reputation as one of the most corrupt and ineffective public institutions in the country and for years, the ministry had failed to achieve its housing targets. Núñez knew that if she took on the role of minister, she would make powerful enemies, and her appointment would be opposed by many within the political establishment. But Núñez was determined to reform the ministry and fight the system of corruption that gripped it.

This case study follows Núñez during her difficult first year in office. Over the course of the year, Núñez created new regulations and processes, committed to transparency and improved the reputation of the organisation, all while increasing the delivery of homes sixfold. However, as 2015 came to an end, one of the high-ranking officials she had dismissed for his involvement in corruption returned to the ministry with a court order reinstating him. As news of his return spread through the offices, Núñez received word that some members of her staff were celebrating. Núñez was shocked: she had worked hard to change the culture of the ministry, but the official’s return seemed to be threatening to undo her work already. Núñez knew she would need to act quickly if she was to retain control of the situation.

It was 8 November 2020, and disinformation about the 2020 presidential election was spreading rapidly. Chris Krebs, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), had to decide what his team should do.

The day before, Democrat nominee Joe Biden had been declared the winner of the election, besting incumbent President Donald Trump, a Republican. But Trump refused to concede, alleging widespread voting irregularities. CISA insisted that the elections were among the most secure in recent history: since 2017 CISA had been working to enhance security and resilience of America’s election system after alleged foreign interference in the 2016 elections. During that time, CISA was able to forge relationships with thousands of local and state officials around the country to improve security of country’s outdated election infrastructure, all while gaining bipartisan respect for its apolitical approach, even as the DHS became increasingly politicised. 

Despite this progress, though, Trump and his allies were now questioning the validity of the election. Disinformation was growing rampant, and Trump allies were sharing a false story about a supercomputer flipping votes. Krebs had to decide how to respond to the false claim in a way that would preserve the public’s trust in the elections and CISA’s reputation.