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Unlike much of the existing literature on organised crime, this book is less focused on the problem per se as it is on understanding its implications. The latter, especially in fragile and conflict regions, amount to strategic challenges for the state. Whereas most commentators would agree that criminal activities are harmful, this volume addresses the questions of 'how?', 'for whom?' and, controversially, 'are they always harmful?'
The volume is authored by experts with multi-year experience analysing criminal and other non-state activities. They do so through different lenses - conflict and security, development, and technology - engaging academics, practitioners and policy makers.
They offer a comprehensive integrated response to the challenges of transnational organised crime beyond traditional law-enforcement driven recommendations.
List of contents
Introduction: A strategic challenge - Virginia Comolli.- Chapter One: The threat of illicit economies and the complex relations with state and society - Vanda Felbab-Brown.- Chapter Two: Organised crime as a threat to sustainable development: Understanding the evidence - Tuesday Reitano.- Chapter Three: IT and cyber capabilities as a force multiplier for transnational crime - Camino Kavanagh.- Chapter Four: Measuring illicit trade and its wider impact - Karl Lallerstedt.- Chapter Five: Catalysing and evaluating development responses to organised crime - Tuesday Reitano.- Chapter Six: A state-building response to organised crime, illicit economies, hybrid threats, and hybrid governance - Vanda Felbab-Brown.- Conclusion - Virginia Comolli.
About the author
Virginia Comolliis Senior Fellow for Security and Development at The International Institute for Strategic Studies
Vanda Felbab-Brownis a Senior Fellow at the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, The Brookings Institution.
Camino Kavanaghis an international consultant and Advisor to the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Cyber Security and ICT4 Peace Foundation.
Karl Lallerstedtis Programme Director for Illicit Trade, Financial and Economic Crime at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime and co-founder of Black Market Watch.
Tuesday Reitanois Deputy Director of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime and a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria.
Summary
Unlike much of the existing literature on organised crime, this book is less focused on the problem per se as it is on understanding its implications. The latter, especially in fragile and conflict regions, amount to strategic challenges for the state. Whereas most commentators would agree that criminal activities are harmful, this volume addresses the questions of ‘how?’, ‘for whom?’ and, controversially, ‘are they always harmful?’
The volume is authored by experts with multi-year experience analysing criminal and other non-state activities. They do so through different lenses - conflict and security, development, and technology - engaging academics, practitioners and policy makers.
They offer a comprehensive integrated response to the challenges of transnational organised crime beyond traditional law-enforcement driven recommendations.
Report
"The book provides an overview of the challenges that local and international organizations have to face when dealing with tackling illicit trades. Generally, readers with security and political science background may find interesting the entire book ... ." (Stefano Caneppele, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, July, 2019)
