What drives post-war crime? Evidence from illicit economies in Liberia and Sierra Leone

Bibliographic Data

ID5761394
AuthorsJudith Vorrath (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume3
Issue1
Pages28-45
Publication date2018-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThird World Thematics A TWQ Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2379-9978 • E-ISSN: 2380-2014
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/23802014.2018.1408426
OpenAlexW2774337703
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited20

Crime is a reality of life around the world, but its characteristics and impact differ tremendously across states and societies. There are different reasons to believe that crime in post-war environments has specific features. First, parts of it may be a legacy of armed conflict or more precisely of war economies. Second, post-war contexts are often seen as being particularly attractive for criminal networks, because massive violence has ended while the state’s authority and capacity remain weak. Despite these alleged links relatively little is known about the manifestations of crime in post-war settings. By looking into illicit economies in Liberia and Sierra Leone this article shows that neither remnants of war economies nor the specific vulnerability of states emerging from armed conflict alone can account for the key features identified. Continuing illicit activities around natural resources and cannabis cultivation as well as the more recent transit of cocaine rather seem to be shaped by incomplete state-building. The shifting boundaries of illegality in combination with informal arrangements increase the level of uncertainty and lead to a constant negotiation of what actually constitutes a crime. The article also discusses why this has so far not involved larger scale violence in both countries

Computer security · Criminology · Development economics · Economics · Economy · Negotiation · Political economy · Political science · Sierra leone · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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