Lines, Flows and Transnational Crime: Toward a Revised Approach to Countering the Underworld of Globalisation

Abstract

This article proposes a paradigm shift in the means and methods of combating transnational criminal activity. It contends that global illicit flows, engineered by organised crime on a massive scale, alongside lawful trade and travel, represent a principal challenge to public safety and civic order. It proposes further that the Westphalian territorial state system, with its complement of multilateral regulatory and law enforcement organisations, is not equipped to meet the challenge effectively. The article advances a series of propositions in support of developing a revised approach to confronting transnational criminal activity.