Mark sits down with authors to discuss their investigations into the murky world of organized crime.

In season two, we hear about a range of stories such as money laundering and cryptocurrency; the 'Ndrangheta's expansion from Calabria, Italy to other countries of Europe.

Also the story of a leading South African police officer, who was tasked with investigating the Italian mafia in South Africa by Nelson Mandela.

A fascinating story about one of the largest frauds in the history of the maritime industry. The growth and evolution of ransomware market, and finally a history of modern Russia told through the stories of four very different criminals.

The series is hosted by Mark Shaw, the Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Mark is also an author of a number of books on organized crime in South Africa.

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Presenter: John Collins, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Director of Academic Engagement, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

Speakers:

Yun Huang, a Postdoctoral Researcher at Shanghai University.

Aysel Sultan, Lecturer at the Technical University of Munich and editor-in-chief of “Drugs, Habits and Social Policy” journal.

Khalid Tinasti, a Researcher at the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding at the Geneva Graduate Institute and Visiting Scholar at the ICPDS at Shanghai University.

Additional Links

Twitter - @IllicitEcons

LinkedIn - Become a member of the Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals group

The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED). JIED is an independent academic journal run by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and published by LSE Press. It’s a peer-reviewed, open access, electronic journal publishing research on the relationship between illicit markets and development.

Cities concentrate economic wealth and political power, leading to conflicts over social organization, political participation, and resource distribution. Scholars in the social sciences, particularly urban geography, have long examined the unequal modes and effects of value production and extraction in cities, emphasizing their connection to capitalist interests, neoliberal deregulation, and global investment flows. These studies have critiqued the exploitative nature of neoliberal urban development. However, cities also serve as arenas where collaborations between formal states and illicit actors occur, necessitating a closer examination of the deep intertwining of illicit activities and city-making in social and material terms.

As a whole, the Special Issue focuses on the contested efforts of competing governance actors to establish territorial control through violence in urban areas. By bringing the process of state-making to the city, the editors and authors see the concept of city-making as a way of claiming sovereignty that recognizes the political materiality of cities. In this context, criminal organizations and groups also seek to assert themselves or benefit from city-making processes, making infrastructural and other material aspects important indicators of power dynamics and contested vehicles for political authority.

Presenter(s):

Frank Müller, Urban Geographer at the University of Amsterdam, Global Fellow of the Marie Curie program of the ERC. Co-editor of the JIED Special Issue.

Julienne Weegels,  Co-Founder of Research network 'Illicities' and co-editor of the JIED Special Issue. Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies at Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (CEDLA), Amsterdam.

Guests:

Lirio Gutierrez Rivera, Associate Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Medellín.

Felipe Fernandez, Postdoctoral Researcher at the International Graduate School “Temporalities of Future” at the Institute for Latin American Studies at Freie Universität, Berlin.

Carolina Grillo, Assistant professor at the Department of Social Sciences at the Fluminense Federal University, associate researcher at the Nucleus for the Study of Citizenship, Conflict and Urban Violence.

Links:

Special Issue - Illicities - City-Making and Organized Crime

Lirio's paper - Agency in Contexts of Violence and Crime: Coping Strategies of Women Community Leaders vis-à-vis Criminal Groups in Medellín, Colombia.

Felipe's paper - Coping with Extortion: On Violence, Parasites, and Water Infrastructures in Buenaventura, Colombia.

Carolina's paper - The Expansion of Milícias in Rio de Janeiro. Political and Economic Advantages.

Julienne's paper - Illicit City-Making and Its Materialities. Introduction to the Special Issue.

Frank's paper - Housing Security: Placing Brazil’s Social Housing Program in a Violent Context.

Journal of Illicit Economies and Development

In this episode, the speakers dive into the JIED special issue 'Illicities - City-Making and Organized Crime'.

Cities concentrate economic wealth and political power, leading to conflicts over social organization, political participation, and resource distribution. Scholars in the social sciences, particularly urban geography, have long examined the unequal modes and effects of value production and extraction in cities, emphasizing their connection to capitalist interests, neoliberal deregulation, and global investment flows. These studies have critiqued the exploitative nature of neoliberal urban development. However, cities also serve as arenas where collaborations between formal states and illicit actors occur, necessitating a closer examination of the deep intertwining of illicit activities and city-making in social and material terms.

As a whole, the Special Issue focuses on the contested efforts of competing governance actors to establish territorial control through violence in urban areas. By bringing the process of state-making to the city, the editors and authors see the concept of city-making as a way of claiming sovereignty that recognizes the political materiality of cities. In this context, criminal organizations and groups also seek to assert themselves or benefit from city-making processes, making infrastructural and other material aspects important indicators of power dynamics and contested vehicles for political authority.

Presenter(s):

Frank Müller, Urban Geographer at the University of Amsterdam, Global Fellow of the Marie Curie program of the ERC. Co-editor of the JIED Special Issue.

Julienne Weegels,  Co-Founder of Research network 'Illicities' and co-editor of the JIED Special Issue. Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies at Centre for Latin American Research and Documentation (CEDLA), Amsterdam.

Guests:

Lirio Gutierrez Rivera, Associate Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Medellín.

Felipe Fernandez, Postdoctoral Researcher at the International Graduate School “Temporalities of Future” at the Institute for Latin American Studies at Freie Universität, Berlin.

Carolina Grillo, Assistant professor at the Department of Social Sciences at the Fluminense Federal University, associate researcher at the Nucleus for the Study of Citizenship, Conflict and Urban Violence.

Links:

Special Issue - Illicities - City-Making and Organized Crime

Lirio's paper - Agency in Contexts of Violence and Crime: Coping Strategies of Women Community Leaders vis-à-vis Criminal Groups in Medellín, Colombia.

Felipe's paper - Coping with Extortion: On Violence, Parasites, and Water Infrastructures in Buenaventura, Colombia.

Carolina's paper - The Expansion of Milícias in Rio de Janeiro. Political and Economic Advantages.

Julienne's paper - Illicit City-Making and Its Materialities. Introduction to the Special Issue.

Frank's paper - Housing Security: Placing Brazil’s Social Housing Program in a Violent Context.

Journal of Illicit Economies and Development

LinkedIn Group - Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

In their discussion, they reflect on how the ongoing conflict is shaping the landscape of organized crime in the country, and the impact the war might have on illicit markets in the future. 

Presenter: Jay Albanese, Professor in the Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Guests:

Dr Yuliya Zabyelina, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, at the City University of New York.

Olena Shostko, Chairperson at the Ukrainian Centre of Legal Studies and a Professor at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Kharkiv, Ukraine. 

Dr Alexey Serdyuk, Head of the Research Laboratory for Psychological Support of Law Enforcement at the Kharkiv National University of International Affairs, in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Social Media

Twitter - @IllicitEcons

LinkedIn - Become a member of the Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals group

The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED). JIED is an independent academic journal run by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and published by LSE Press. It’s a peer-reviewed, open access, electronic journal publishing research on the relationship between illicit markets and development.

Presenter: John Collins, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Director of Academic Engagement, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Guests:

Diane Steber Büchli, Senior Advisor, Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.

Khalid Tinasti, Visiting Lecturer at the Geneva Graduate Institute; and Visiting Fellow at the Shanghai University

Deborah Alimi, Founder of Daleth Research and Associate Researcher at the Sorbonne University.

Social Media

Twitter - @IllicitEcons

LinkedIn - Become a member of the Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals group

The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED). JIED is an independent academic journal run by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and published by LSE Press. It’s a peer-reviewed, open access, electronic journal publishing research on the relationship between illicit markets and development.

Presenter: John Collins, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Director of Academic Engagement, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Guest(s)

Professor Peter Reuter is a Distinguished University Professor in the School of Public Policy and Department of Criminology at the University of Maryland. He was also founding resident of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy and has published prolifically on topics of drugs, organized crime, money laundering and numerous other topics.

Social Media

Twitter - @IllicitEcons

LinkedIn - Become a member of the Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals group

The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED). JIED is an independent academic journal run by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and published by LSE Press. It’s a peer-reviewed, open access, electronic journal publishing research on the relationship between illicit markets and development.

Presenter: John Collins, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Director of Academic Engagement, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Guests

Angela Me – the Chief of the Research Branch at UNODC

María Alejandra Velez – Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of Security and Drugs at Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia

Daniel Brombacher - the head of the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD) at GiZ.

Social Media

Twitter - @IllicitEcons

LinkedIn - Become a member of the Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals group

The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED). JIED is an independent academic journal run by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and published by LSE Press. It’s a peer-reviewed, open access, electronic journal publishing research on the relationship between illicit markets and development.

Urban Peace special issue.

Presenter: John Collins, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Director of Academic Engagement, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Guests

Achim Wennmann, Senior Researcher, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies & Executive Coordinator, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

Merve Kania, Advisor for the German Development Cooperation (GIZ)

Antônio Sampaio, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Rachel Locke, Director, Impact:Peace, Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice

Social Media

Twitter - @IllicitEcons

LinkedIn - Become a member of the Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals group

The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED). JIED is an independent academic journal run by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and published by LSE Press. It’s a peer-reviewed, open access, electronic journal publishing research on the relationship between illicit markets and development.

Presenter: John Collins, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Director of Academic Engagement, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Speakers:

Juliana de Oliveira Carlos, Department of Sociology at University of São Paulo, Brazil

Gabriel Feltran, Department of Sociology at the Federal University of São Carlos, and the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP)

Luiz Guilherme Mendes de Paiva, Criminal Justice Researcher at the Center for Analysis of Liberty and Authoritarianism

Reading:

Brazil: Special Issue - Volume 1, Issue 2

Social Media

Twitter - @IllicitEcons

LinkedIn - Become a member of the Illicit Economies and Organized Crime: Researchers and Policy Professionals group

The Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED). JIED is an independent academic journal run by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and published by LSE Press. It’s a peer-reviewed, open access, electronic journal publishing research on the relationship between illicit markets and development.