Postmodern global terrorist groups engage sovereign nations asymmetrically with prolonged, sustained campaigns driven by ideology. Increasingly, transnational criminal organizations operate with sophistication previously only found in multinational corporations. Unfortunately, both of these entities can now effectively hide and morph, keeping law e
Since the end of the Cold War, states have become increasingly engaged in the suppression of transnational organised crime. The existence of the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocols demonstrates the necessity to comprehend this subject in a systematic way. Synthesizing the various sources of law that form this area of growing academic and practical importance, International Law and Transnational Organised Crime provides readers with a thorough understanding of the key concepts and legal instruments in international law governing transnational organised crime. The volume analyses transnational organised crime in consideration of the most relevant subareas of international law, such as international human rights and the law of armed conflict. Written by internationally recognized scholars in international and criminal law as well as respected high-level practitioners, this book is a useful tool for lawyers, public agents, and academics seeking straightforward and comprehensive access to a complex and significant topic.
“The strength of this book is that it does not look at a single case or even a few disparate examples of drug, weapon, and human trafficking but looks at many patterns—intra-regionally, cross-nationally, and internationally. It is an innovative addition to the literature on the nature of the safe havens—or ‘black spots’—currently being used for illicit activity. This book will make a clear impact on the scholarship of transnational crime and the geopolitics of the illicit global economy.” —Jeremy Morris, Aarhus University, Denmark Transnational criminal, insurgent, and terrorist organizations seek places that they can govern and operate from with minimum interference from law enforcement. This book examines 80 such safe havens which function outside effective state-based government control and are sustained by illicit economic activities. Brown and Hermann call these geographic locations ‘black spots’ because, like black holes in astronomy that defy the laws of Newtonian physics, they defy the world as defined by the Westphalian state system. The authors map flows of insecurity such as trafficking in drugs, weapons, and people, providing an unusually clear view of the hubs and networks that form as a result. As transnational crime is increasing on the internet, Brown and Hermann also explore if there are places in cyberspace which can be considered black spots. They conclude by elaborating the challenges that black spots pose for law enforcement and both national and international governance.
Attacks by network-based transnational terrorist groups cause on average 25,000 deaths every year worldwide, with the law enforcement agencies of some states facing many challenges in bringing those responsible to justice. Despite various attempts to codify the law on transnational terrorism since the 1930s, a crime of transnational terrorism under international law remains contested, reflecting concerns regarding the relative importance of prosecuting members of transnational terrorist groups before the International Criminal Court. This book critically examines the limits of international criminal law in bringing members of transnational terrorist groups to justice in the context of changing methods of warfare, drawing from human rights, sociology, and best practices in international criminal justice. Drawing on organisational network theory, Anna Marie Brennan explores the nature of international crimes and assesses the potential for the International Criminal Court to prosecute and investigate alleged crimes perpetrated by members of transnational terrorist groups, paying particular attention to their modus operandi and organisational structure. This book argues that because of the network-based organisational structure of some transnational terrorist groups, achieving justice for victims will prove challenging, in the context of the relationship between the commanders and the subordinate members of the group requiring a re-evaluation of accountability mechanisms at the international level. In advancing an innovative perspective on the accountability of members of transnational terrorist groups, and in offering solutions to current challenges, the book will be of great interest and use to academic, practitioners, and students engaged in the study of terrorism, the ICC, or international humanitarian law.
The dramatic terrorist attacks of 9/11 highlighted significant gaps in research on the topic as governments, community groups, social service agencies and law enforcement agencies were forced to respond without any evidence-based guidance on best practices for tactics, strategies, and policy development. The essays selected for this volume demonstrate that transnational terrorism is now a thriving area of study and display the breadth and depth of scholarship that has recently been published. The research draws attention to global patterns of transnational terrorism; highlights various structural and cultural explanations; provides an overview of some of the ways that terrorism impacts society; and discusses strategies used to effectively respond to transnational terrorism. This volume, which is of interest to academics, policymakers and practitioners, provides a repository of some of the best contemporary research in this field.
In recent years, in the context of the War on Terror and globalization, there has been an increased interest in terrorism and organized crime in academia, yet historical research into such phenomena is relatively scarce. This book resets the balance and emphasizes the importance of historical research to understanding terrorism and organized crime. This book explores historical accounts of organized crime and terrorism, drawing on research from around the world in such areas as the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Colombia, Somalia, Burma, Turkey and Trinidad and Tobago. Combining key case studies with fresh conceptualizations of organized crime and terrorism, this book reinvigorates scholarship by comparing and contrasting different historical accounts and considering their overlaps. Critical ‘lessons learned’ are drawn out from each chapter, providing valuable insights for current policy, practice and scholarship. This book is an indispensable guide for understanding the wider history of terrorism and organized crime. It maps key historical changes and trends in this area and underlines the vital importance of history in understanding critical contemporary issues. Taking an interdisciplinary approach and written by leading criminologists, historians and political scientists, this book will be of particular interest to students of terrorism/counter-terrorism, organized crime, drug policy, criminology, security studies, politics, international relations, sociology and history.
Accessible and jargon-free and available in both print and electronic formats, the one-volume Encyclopedia of Transnational Crime and Justice contains a range of up-to-date entries that not only reflect transnational crime, but transnational justice.
The involvement of insurgent and extremist groups in criminal activity is an issue that has been a concern of U.S. administrations for decades. In recent years, some observers have claimed that interactions between international terrorists and criminals are increasing. If true, expanded links between criminal and terrorist networks could increase U.S. vulnerability to attack by terrorist groups with enhanced criminal capabilities and financial resources. An expanded range of combined criminal and terrorist activity could also affect the global economy and U.S. foreign policy goals, undermining licit international commerce and the promotion of good governance and rule of law. Threats posed by a crime-terrorism nexus may be particularly challenging, as the scale and nature of their cooperation are believed to vary widely and limited anecdotal evidence largely serves as the basis for current understanding of the problem. U.S. efforts to combat the relationship between crime and terrorism are a subset of broader policy responses to transnational crime and international terrorism individually. While numerous U.S. strategies and programs are designed to combat international terrorism and transnational crime separately, fewer efforts focus specifically on addressing the confluence of the two. Those efforts that do exist focus mainly on (1) human smuggling and clandestine terrorist travel, (2) money laundering and terrorist financing, and (3) narcoterrorism links between drug traffickers and terrorists. Many of these efforts, including the creation of the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, the reorganization of the Treasury Departments Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, and the expanded extraterritorial jurisdiction authority to investigate and prosecute international narcoterrorism cases, occurred in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Congress played a large role in such efforts, holding at least eight hearings specifically on some aspect of c.
This volume investigates the role of the transnational terrorist and criminal organizations in the peace-building processes, with a particular focus on the Western Balkan region. Conducted within the framework of human security analysis, the research focuses on the security of the human being.
