Transcript Slide 1

Criminal networks and black markets in
transnational environmental crime: some
thoughts on a conceptual framework
Prof Lorraine Elliott
Transnational Environmental Crime Project
The Australian National University
ips.cap.anu.edu.au/ir/tec
Introduction/overview
Purpose: the ‘who’ but also the ‘how’ of TEC –
criminal networks and black markets
Logistic trails
Network analyses to understand illegal market
operations
Networks as entrepreneurial structures
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Approach to criminal networks/black
trade
Focus/unit of analysis
Approach
Criminology
Social networks (SNA)
Relational
Transaction Cost
Economics
Value/commodity
chains and production
Transactional
Public
policy/management
Governance/structure
Organisational
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SNA: document roles, relationships, social
complexity; but also useful conceptual scaffolding …
brokerage, centrality, density, redundancy, structural
holes
TCE: spatial/geographic organisation of [illicit]
production; inputs [material/labour], ‘outsourcing’,
network supply relationships
PPM: governance structures, collective action and
patterns of interaction
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Analytical framework for understanding
logistic trails and entrepreneurial structures
• Nodes (managing illicit trade flows)
– Functional
– Geographic (‘black holes’)
• Organisational – form and function
Chain networks
 Loosely coupled, organisationally flat
 Task specificity and arm’s length transactions
Hub and spoke networks
 functionally specific nodes,
 higher density but ‘need to know’
 opportunities for ‘king pin’ strategies
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Relationships of illegal commercial exchange
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Specialisation and differentiation (skills)
Redundancy and criticality (options)
Brokerage (positioning)
Supply and exchange relationships
(product/skill/labour)
commodity suppliers
captive suppliers
turn-key suppliers
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