Transcript Transnational Organised Crime and International Security

The New Security Agenda
Transnational Organised Crime and
International Security
Derek Lutterbeck, PhD
GCSP
Overview
Changing Security Paradigms
Transnational Organised Crime as a
Security Challenge
Transnational Organised Crime and
Terrorism
Changing Security Paradigms
Traditional Challenges
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state-based
military
external
direct
territorial
enemy strength
military stability
conquest
New Challenges
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non-state actors
socio-economic
internal / transnational
diffuse
non-territorial
state weakness
rule of law
corruption
European Security Strategy:
“A Secure Europe in a Better World”
(12 December 2003)
“Large-scale aggression against any Member State is
now improbable. Instead, Europe faces new
threats which are more diverse, less visible and
less predictable”
Key threats
Terrorism
Proliferation of WMD
Regional conflicts (Middle East, Kashmir, Great
Lakes region, Korean peninsula)
State failure
Organised Crime
UN High Level Panel:
“A more secure world: our shared
responsibility” (December 2004)
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Poverty, infectious disease, environmental
degradation
Inter-state Conflict
Conflict within states, including genocide and
other large-scale atrocities
Proliferation of nuclear, radiological, chemical,
biological weapons
Terrorism
Transnational organised crime
US National Security Strategy
“Enemies in the past needed great armies and
great industrial capabilities to endanger
America. Now, shadowy networks of
individuals can bring great chaos and
suffering to our shores for less than it costs
to purchase a single tank.”
(National Security Strategy of the US, 2002)
Security concerns of EU citizens
What do People fear most?
(Human Security Centre poll in 11 countries)
Deepening and Widening of
Security
Vertical
Regional/
international
State
Society
Human
Sectoral
Health
Economy
Defence
Environment
Politics
New Security Actors within States
Interior/justice ministries
Finance ministries
Environment ministries
Energy ministries
Health ministries
Multilateral Security Actors
International Organisations
- the UN and peace operations
- specialised agencies
Regional Organisations
- military operations
- peace-building
- multilateral police missions
Private Security Actors
NGOs
Multinational corporations
Private military companies
Transnational criminal networks
Terrorist groups
Convergence of Internal and
External Security
Transnational challenges (such as
transnational organised crime or transnational
terrorism)
→ blurring of separation between internal and
external security
→ convergence of police and military functions
Increasing involvement of military forces in
domestic security missions (critical infrastructure
protection, border control etc.)
Internationalisation of policing
Transnational organised crime:
factors behind its expansion
Globalisation:
– Economic and financial liberalisation
– Increasing mobility and migration
Political liberalisation
State weakness / economic
underdevelopment in some regions of the
world
Definition of Organised Crime
UN Convention Against Transnational
Organised Crime:
“Organized criminal group” = structured group of
three or more persons acting together, over a
period of time, with the aim of committing one or
more serious crimes ”
US Organised Crime Control Act:
“The unlawful activities of...a highly organized,
disciplined association...”
The Network of Organised Crime
Organized Crime
Fraud
Money laundering
Protection rackets
Front Companies
Smuggling
Bribery
Corruption
Partiality
Business
Bribery
Cronyism
Economic espionage
Monopoly
Protection
State Authorities
Transnational crime
Crossing of state borders:
perpetrators
products
people
proceeds
digital signals
Transnational crime
Transnational crimes committed by:
individuals
licit enterprises
organised crime groups
terrorists
governments
Transnational organised crime:
Principal sources of revenue
(estimates)
Drug trafficking: 321 billion USD (retail
level)
Human trafficking: 10 - 15 billion USD
Illicit arms trafficking: 2 -10 billion USD
Illicit Drug Trade in Comparison
Threat of transnational organised
crime
Direct security threat to weak states
Indirect security threat to less vulnerable
states
Threat to:
– good governance
– state institutions
– legal markets / economic development
– individuals
Dimensions of state weakness
Territorial: territories escaping control of
state (lawless areas, no-go zones etc.)
Legal: gaps in legislation which organised
crime may exploit
Political: lack of legitimacy, corruption
Economic: poor economic performance,
large illegal economy
Social: ‘culture’ of criminality / corruption
Current trends in Organised Crime
in the EU area
(Europol assessment)
Organised crime dominated by indigenous groups,
but growing links with non-indigenous groups
‘Ethnic’ basis of organised crime
Linked to illegal immigration / fraudulent asylum
applications
Widening of crime portfolio (diversification)
Trend towards more loose network structures
Abuse of legal company structures to conduct or
hide criminal activities
Transnational Organised Crime as
an Issue of ‘Hard Security’
Organised Crime and Terrorism
Organised Crime and Violent Conflict
Organised Crime and Nuclear Material
Trafficking
Transnational Organised Crime and
Terrorism : Key Differences
Transnational
Organised crime
Terrorism
Economic motivation
Political motivation
Seeks to weaken but
not to destroy state
institutions
Seeks to destroy the
state or to change the
political system in
fundamental ways
Convergence between organised
crime and terrorism
Alliances between organised crime groups
and terrorists
Terrorist groups pursuing criminal activities
(to finance their activities)
Organised crime groups using terror
tactics (to shape their operational
environment)
Hybrid groups
Example of Terrorism/Crime nexus:
Madrid bombings
Involvement of both religious extremists and
criminals
Key role: Moroccan drug trafficking network (Jamal
Ahmidan)
Purchase of explosives against hashish
Other criminal activities: robbery, credit and phone
card fraud, vehicle theft etc.
Importance of contacts from prison
Radicalisation of criminals in prison
Criminals not only in support/logistics but also in
operational / attack role
Organised Crime and Violent
Conflict
Changing nature of violent conflict
Organised crime have impact on
– outbreak
– course
– aftermath
of armed conflict
Fighting Transnational Organised Crime:
International Police Cooperation
Expansion of police cooperation in response to
growth in cross-border crime
International
– Interpol
– G8 Lyon Group
Regional
– Europol
– SECI Centre (Bucharest)
Bilateral cooperation between countries
– Exchange of evidence
– Legal assistance
– Extradition etc.
Some Dilemmas in Fighting
Transnational Organised Crime
Combating illicit cross-border activities
typically also hampers legal cross-border
exchanges
More intrusive policing might threaten civil
liberties
Criminal employment might be better than
high unemployment
Dirty money might be better than no FDI