Strategic competition and drivers of armed violence in organised crime
PROJECT TEAM
Antônio Sampaio
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Contact: antonio.sampaio@globalinitiative.net
Antônio Sampaio is a Senior Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. He leads a thematic research stream on cities and illicit economies, examining urban armed violence, non-state armed groups and their impact on urban governance and security. Antônio previously worked for over nine years at The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) – more recently as Research Fellow. Prior to that, he was a journalist at Globo News TV in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
PROJECT SUMMARY
This research analyses the drivers of armed violence linked to organised crime. It is a scoping exercise of the academic and policy literature on organised crime and violence, looking closely at the evidence related to causes of violence linked specifically to organised crime. It also briefly analyses some important trends in research on environmental and societal factors influencing the likelihood of criminal violence. It provides brief case studies that illustrate different drivers at play.
The main finding is that strategic competition between criminal groups is a core driver of organised criminal violence – that is, major shifts in violence in areas with presence of organised crime are determined by strategies to manage competition, maintain control over illegal economies and govern aspects of territories amid a competitive context characterised by the constant threat of violence. The study identifies three broad categories of strategic competition affecting large-scale organised criminal violence: competition to acquire or defend territory and market; competition with the state (which also involves significant negotiation and side deals); and strategies towards communities and dissenters to maintain criminal governance and extortion.
PUBLICATIONS
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Publications from this project will be posted here when available
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Publications from this project will be posted here when available