The Center on International Cooperation organized an inter-regional dialogue to assess the links between organized crime and political/state actors. This seminar brought together investigative journalists, politicians, researchers and analysts from West and Southern Africa and Latin America to foster a dialogue between regions struggling to cope with and respond to the growing phenomenon of transnational organized crime and the impact it is having on peacebuilding and statebuilding. The seminar addressed the interdependency of organized criminal groups and political/state actors; how these links have manifest themselves in different circumstances and the incentives driving them; and the impact of these linkages on peace processes and statebuilding and related questions of legitimacy. The seminar also identified examples where political actors have resisted organized criminal infiltration and options for responses beyond strengthening state security. CIC hopes to use the findings of the seminar and further research in this area to influence current debates on transnational organized crime and inform its ongoing work on peacebuilding and statebuilding. The seminar was organized in conjunction with International IDEA, the Netherlands Institute for Multi-Party Democracy and the Open Society Institute. The summary report of the event is available here.

Highlights

Thematic Discussion One | Framing the Issues: Organized Crime and State Capture or the Capture of Organized Crime by the State?

Chair:
Dr. Kwesi Aning (Ghana)

Key Discussants :
Mr. Jorge Heine (Chile)
Mr. Douglas Farah (United States)
Mr. Desmond Davies (Sierra Leone)
Mr. Charles Goredema, (Zimbabwe)
Mr. Gustavo Gorriti (Peru)

Thematic discussion Two | Understanding the Issues: The Devil Remains in the Detail

Chair:
Dr. Matthias Stiefel

Key discussants:
Dr. John Pokoo (Ghana)
Dr. Enrique Desmond Arias (United States)
Dra. Claudia Lopez (Colombia)
Dr. Bruno Speck (Brazil)
Dr. Dirk Kruijt (Netherlands)

Thematic discussion Three | Building Resilience from Within

Chair:
Javier Melendez (Nicaragua)

Key discussants:
Sen. Hector Rosada (Guatemala)
Dr. Muazu Umar (Nigeria)
Dr. Kwesi Aning (Ghana)
Mr. Pablo O'Brien (Peru)

Thematic discussion four | Building Resilience from Without: A Case of Wishful Thinking?

Chair:
Mr. Roger Cortez Hurtado (Bolivia)

Key discussants:

Mr. Mamadu Queta (Guinea Bissau)
Mr. Martin Rodriguez Pellecer (Guatemala)
Mr. Eduardo Salcedo (Colombia)
Dra. Vanda Felbab-Brown (United States)