Bending the Rules to Break the System: The Future of Interpol at a Crossroads

Abstract

The scale and scope of the transnational serious and organized crime threat are growing at a concerning rate. These increasingly resilient and entrepreneurial organized crime groups directly threaten human security and the rule of law. In this strategic context, international law enforcement cooperation is more important than ever. The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the preeminent multilateral cooperation mechanism in the rules-based order, is essential to the global response to this organized crime threat. Unfortunately, autocratic states increasingly seek to interact with international institutions in a manner that violates such institutions' rules and norms, as well as those of the broader global rules-based order. Because of its institutional vulnerabilities, Interpol also faces this threat. This paper explores, using case studies, how autocratic states like Turkey, Russia, and China continue to manipulate Interpol's systems to achieve outcomes that these mechanisms were not meant to achieve. Moreover, these same states are undermining the rules-based order. The paper argues that much will need to be done to future-proof Interpol and assure its continued relevance and strategic success. At the heart of this work is a requirement to dramatically increase Interpol's transparency while protecting operational security and privacy. This paper illustrates that a lack of transparency and accountability represents a distinct vulnerability. Exploiting this vulnerability is not simply about the organization and its functions but the broader functionality of multilateralism and the rules-based order. Reforming institutions like Interpol to create transparency and accountability is thus an essential step in preserving the rules-based order that generations have worked so hard to create and that benefits many.