[10] Chipkin researched the transition from apartheid to democracy, the impact of political ideologies on national identity, and governance and corruption mechanisms in post-apartheid South Africa.
PARI focuses on studying government performance through an institutional lens, emphasizing the cultural, political, and social dimensions of public organizations.
With Mark Swilling and others, he co-authored a May 2017 PARI report on state capture Betrayal of the Promise: How South Africa is being stolen, that analyzed the phenomenon within the country's political economy.
[19] Shadow State has been recognized for its meticulous evidence and analysis of corruption scandals, notably involving President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family, which have significantly influenced South African democracy and governance.
[16][20] In Foreign Affairs, reviewer Nicolas van de Walle highlighted the book's detailed documentation of influence peddling, rent seeking, insider trading, and corruption, underscoring its contribution to exposing and understanding the depth of state capture in South Africa.
[21] Shadow State also raised an important debate about the role of academics as active participants in a political moment, said How to Steal a City author Crispian Olver in a South African Historical Journal review.
[30] In 2019, Chipkin was a co-founder of a new think tank, initially named Government and Public Policy (GAPP), which was later renamed the New South Institute (NSI).