Casey Michel’s Foreign Agents

Casey Michel’s Foreign Agents examines how kleptocratic regimes exploit financial and legal systems in democracies to advance their interests. Drawing attention to the role of "enablers" within Western societies, Michel argues, “They say America is a beacon of freedom, but I say it has become a haven for dirty money.” The book critiques these enablers—lobbyists, legal professionals, and financial institutions—who facilitate money laundering and reputation laundering for authoritarian regimes. Michel contends, “They say these financial systems are built on transparency and accountability, but I say they’re riddled with loopholes that protect kleptocrats.” By exposing these practices, Michel highlights the fragility of democratic systems when infiltrated by foreign influence and unregulated financial flows.

The dynamics Michel describes bear striking similarities to global sex work industries, particularly in their shared reliance on exploiting legal loopholes and systemic power imbalances. Just as kleptocrats manipulate legal structures for illicit gains, many actors in the sex work industry operate within gray areas of the law, where loopholes are used  women and exploit them. Hidden power structures also play a central role in both systems; “They say globalization opens up opportunities, but I say it also amplifies exploitation” is as relevant to Michel’s analysis of kleptocracy as it is to global sex trafficking. Moreover, reputation laundering—a key theme in Foreign Agents—finds parallels in sex work, where exploitative practices are often sanitized under the guise of empowerment, masking the marginalization and harm endured by many workers. Both cases demonstrate how systems designed to uphold justice and transparency can become tools of exploitation when oversight fails, reinforcing Michel’s central critique of unchecked power and influence.