This book meticulously examines how centers of illicit trade pose myriad threats to global security and sustainable development. The exponential growth of illicit trade, resulting in annual losses amounting to trillions of dollars for the global economy, is increasingly concentrated within specific geographic areas. These locales serve as safe havens for smugglers and their accomplices, fostering a criminal ecosystem that facilitates the convergence of various criminal activities. The book underscores the detrimental impact of poorly regulated international free trade zones, which prioritize expediency over security, thereby allowing illicit trade to flourish in regions characterized by opaque governance and lax regulatory oversight. It comprehensively explores the spectrum of illicit trade present in notorious hubs such as the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay Tri-Border Area, Dubai, Panama, Belize, Guatemala, and Ukraine. Emphasizing the phenomenon of crime convergence associated with these hubs, the book offers actionable recommendations for disrupting their interconnected illicit supply chains, infrastructures, and networks. By addressing this interconnectedness, the book fills a critical void in understanding how vulnerabilities within the global economy fuel the creation of illicit trade hubs. It will be of great value to researchers in the fields of trade, economics, criminology, and international development. It will also be an excellent resource for government agencies, policymakers, and private-sector managers in those industries most affected by the growing problem of illicit trade.

This report assesses the magnitude, flows and drivers of illicit trade and the illegal economy including: narcotics, human trafficking, wildlife, sports betting, counterfeit medicines, alcohol and tobacco.

This report examines governance frameworks to counter illicit trade. It looks at the adequacy and effectiveness of sanctions and penalties applicable, the steps parties engaged in illicit trade take to lower the risk of detection - for example through small shipments - and the use of free trade ...

“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.

Illicit trade in counterfeit goods causes economic damage by reducing sales and profits as well as innovation incentives in legitimate industries. This study looks at damages caused by illicit trade in counterfeits to small and medium-sized enterprises. The robust evidence on the magnitude, scope and trends of this risk informs policy makers about the need to include anti-counterfeiting elements in policy packages designed to support SMEs.

Using a “vertical slice” approach, anthropologists critically analyze the relationship between undemocratic uses and abuses of power and the survival of the human species. The contributors scrutinize modern institutions in a variety of regions—from Russia and Mexico to South Korea and the U.S. Up, Down, and Sideways is an ethnographic examination of such phenomena as debtculture, global financial crises, food insecurity, indigenous land and resource appropriation, the mismanagement of health care, andcorporate surrogacy within family life. With a preface by Laura Nader, this isessential reading for anyone seeking solid theories and concrete methods to inform activist scholarship.

This year’s edition of the Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) publication focuses on illicit financial flows and their detrimental effects on development and growth.

This study looks at the issue of the complex routes of trade in counterfeit pirated goods. Using a set of statistical filters, it identifies key producing economies and key transit points. The analysis is done for ten main sectors for which counterfeiting is the key threat.

To contribute to the existing pool of evidence on the dynamic interplay between illicit trade and armed conflicts, this report looks at illicit trade flows in four separate conflict-affected countries in the MENA region: Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. For the case of Yemen, the report also presents a deep-dive analysis of illicit trade flows and the relevant governance environment.