A Crime-Terror Nexus? Thinking on Some of the Links between Terrorism and Criminality

An interesting argument in this paper. Nothing to add so will let the abstract speak for itself.

JO - Studies in Conflict & Terrorism PB - Taylor & Francis AU - Hutchinson, Steven AU - O’malley, Pat TI - A Crime–Terror Nexus? Thinking on Some of the Links between Terrorism and Criminality

SN - 1057-610X PY - 2007 VL - 30 IS - 12  SP - 1095 EP - 1107

AB - Decreasing state sponsorship for terrorism in the post-9/11 environment has pressed terrorist groups to find alternative sources of financial support. Some groups have created their own “in-house” criminal capabilities, for example FARC, the LTTE, and Al Qaeda. Several analysts have argued that this “mutation” in organizational form may lead terrorist groups to ally with organized crime, whereas others have suggested that distinct organizational and ideological differences between the two will preclude cooperation. Drawing on both accounts, it is argued in this article that the degree of a terrorist group's organizational capacity and need are key predictors of the types of crime they will engage in, while ideological (political) distinctiveness will preclude fully symbiotic cooperation between terrorists and organized crime groups.

Technorati Tags: Terrorism , Crime