The persistence of organized crime in post-caliphate Iraq
A case of crime-terror convergence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21584679 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sara Kulić (Hague Institute for Global Justice), Maarten P Bolhuis (0000-0001-8926-3146, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 80 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 569-597 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Crime Law and Social Change (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0925-4994 • E-ISSN: 1573-0751 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10611-023-10104-y |
| OpenAlex | W4381804768 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 23 |
In the advancing understanding of the crime-terror nexus, organized crime and terrorist entities are increasingly seen as capable of pursuing multiple agendas simultaneously, with the potential to ultimately reach convergence. Applying Makarenko’s theoretical work on crime-terror convergence, this article sets out to explain the persistence of organized crime in Iraq after the fall of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Caliphate, based on a literature study and three expert interviews. The vacuum caused by the Caliphate’s fall led to fierce competition between remnants of ISIS and Iran-backed Shia factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and a rearrangement of control over ISIS’ criminal enterprise. The Iraq-Syria border is used as a hub for the smuggling of weapons, drugs, oil, and people by both the ISIS remnants and the Shia PMF factions, while the border areas and roads leading to Baghdad are focal points for imposing illicit taxation. We argue that in post-Caliphate Iraq, ISIS remnants can be seen as hybrid criminal-political entities, while the Shia PMF factions cannot be defined as such in a definite manner. In their competition for power, both actors exploit local idiosyncrasies to garner support among the local population. By strengthening both their criminal and ideological-political components, these actors continue to destabilize the already fragile Iraqi state. Moreover, because Iran-backed Shia PMF factions obtained legitimacy and state backing as liberators from ISIS and became embedded in the Iraqi state apparatus, the state itself became a crucial contributor to the crime-terror nexus in post-Caliphate Iraq
Caliphate · Criminology · Geography · Ideology · Islam · Legitimacy · Organised crime · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrorism · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
An Overview of Current Trends in Terrorism and Illicit Finance
Terrorist Criminal Enterprises
Fulfilling Clandestiny
Return and Expand? The Finances and Prospects of the Islamic State After the Caliphate
Webs of Corruption
The Crime-Terror Continuum
Categorising the crime–terror nexus in the European Union
Rethinking Intersections of Crime and Terrorism
Iraq’s popular mobilisation units
Conceptualizing Terrorism
The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate
Oil and the Islamic State
A Crime–Terror Nexus? Thinking on Some of the Links between Terrorism and Criminality 1
Financing of Non-State Armed Groups in the Middle East
Integration of Iran-backed armed groups into the Iraqi and Syrian armed forces
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |