Addressing the Paramilitary–Organised Crime Nexus in War-to-Peace Transitions: Implications for Development Programmes
June 2026
Briefing Note 46
Professor Jonathan Goodhand (SOAS, University of London)
Dr. Patrick Meehan (University of Manchester)
SOC ACE Project: Para-statal armed groups, illicit economies and organised crime
PUBLICATION SUMMARY
This briefing note forms part of a series of publications generated through the Policy Lab convened by Goodhand and Meehan, and supported by SOC ACE, to explore new approaches to addressing the paramilitary-organised crime nexus and how better to integrate responses.
Paramilitary–organised crime networks frequently persist after peace agreements, and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) processes, requiring development actors to adopt long-term, conflict‑sensitive approaches rather than assuming that stabilisation efforts alone will weaken these systems.
Four strategic approaches shape policy responses: avoidance, which prioritises short‑term stability but risks reinforcing paramilitary influence; co‑option, which accommodates armed actors to facilitate project delivery but embeds them in governance structures; criminalisation, which disrupts illicit economies but can generate displacement effects and community harm; and transformation, which tackles underlying inequalities, political exclusion and livelihood deficits to reduce demand for paramilitarism.
Five implications follow. First, development programming must be conflict‑sensitive and attentive to distributional impacts, as development can enable coercive governance and dispossession in borderland regions. Second, programmes should invest in harm reduction and community‑level violence mitigation, addressing everyday coercion that undermines peace. Third, policymakers must create multiple, systemic pathways out of paramilitarism, including labour‑intensive economic alternatives. Fourth, integrating marginalised regions through infrastructure, services and devolved governance can help weaken paramilitary influence, but this must be designed to ensure local communities genuinely benefit and are not further marginalised. Finally, addressing the nexus requires interventions that tackle the gendered structures of criminalised local orders, recognising gendered vulnerabilities, masculinised power structures and how pathways into criminality are gendered.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Read the full series of publications from Jonathan Goodhand and Patrick Meehan’s Policy Lab on ‘Addressing the Paramilitary-Organised Crime Nexus in War-to-Peace Transitions’.
Paramilitaries and Organised Crime in War-to-Peace Transitions: Policy Challenges and
Responses
How have policymakers sought to address the paramilitary-organised crime nexus, what are the challenges and what are the lessons? Read here…
Paramilitary-Organised Crime Nexus: A framework for policymakers
A framework for assessing policy responses to the paramilitary-organised crime nexus from Goodhand and Meehan. Read here…
Paramilitary-Organised Crime Nexus: Implications for supporting peace processes
How does the paramilitary–organised crime nexus shape war‑to‑peace transitions, and what are the implications for peace process support? Read here…
Paramilitary-Organised Crime Nexus: Implications for DDR and SSR Programmes
DDR/SSR in paramilitary-affected contexts requires tailored strategies, improved intelligence & analysis, conditionality for participation, and government coordination. Read here…
Paramilitary-Organised Crime Nexus: Implications for Addressing Organised Crime
How to address organised crime when paramilitary criminal activities are embedded in political, territorial and governance systems rather than being solely profit-driven? Read here…
Undertaking Political Economy Analysis of the Paramilitary–Organised Crime Nexus
A practical tool to guide policymakers and practitioners in undertaking political economy analysis of the paramilitary-organised crime nexus. Read here…
Colombia Case Study: Political Negotiations with Paramilitary ‘Allies’
Negotiations with paramilitaries requires transparency, formal structures and accountability. DDR should be combined with strategies to dismantle political-criminal networks, extend governance and create economic alternatives. Read here…
N. Ireland Case Study: A ‘Public Health’ Approach to the Paramilitary-Organised Crime Nexus
Integrated, cross-department, community-based approaches can help reduce paramilitary harm and legitimacy but are unlikely to secure disbandment on their own. Read here…
Myanmar Case Study: The Paramilitary-Organised Crime Nexus in Borderlands
Responses must recognise the structural role of militias, focus on financial and criminal networks, mitigate harms and engage seriously with the opportunities and limitations of working with regional powers. Read here…
Read publications from Jonathan Goodhand and Patrick Meehan from their overarching research project, Parastatal Armed Groups, Illicit Economies and Organised Crime.
Coercive Brokerage: The Paramilitary-Organized Crime Nexus in Borderlands and Frontiers
Explores the nexus between paramilitaries, illicit economies and organised crime, advancing a conceptual framework for analysing in borderland and frontier regions. Read here….
Coercive Brokerage: Paramilitaries, Illicit Economies and Organised Crime in the Frontiers of Afghanistan, Colombia
Examines the nexus between paramilitaries, illicit economies and organised crime through case studies of Afghanistan, Myanmar and Colombia borderlands. Read here…