Transnational Politics

Global networks of violence

Today

Dark networks and violent transnationalism Drug cartels and terrorism

Drug cartels: economic gain Terrorism: political gain

Reading: Fiona B. Adamson: ‘Globalization, Transnational Political

Mobilization, and networks of Violence’

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Transnational activism and national security

How does transnational activism change national security policies?

How can insights from the transnational advocacy literature help us understand violent networks?

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Three sections

Adamson, p. 33 First section: New incentives and opportunities for

transnational activists Second section: Empirical examples Third section: Four distinct ways in which transnational

violent networks affect national security

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Incentives to move beyond the state

Mobility of people. Migration – legal and illegal/human trafficking.

Leads to more transnational ties across societies. Increased connectivity: decreased costs of communication.

Mobility of capital/goods. Informal economic networks and remittances. Drug smuggling.

Mobility of ideas and identities. ‘Virtually’ defined communities. New technologies enable transnational communities.

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Pull and push factors: fomenting nationalism

Globalization provides ‘pull’ factors enabling transnational activism.

Political grievances are the ‘push’ factors behind the formation of transnational networks (p. 37, boomerang pattern).

Examples: Kosovo, Kurdistan, Tamil nationalists, Hamas.

Using violence to provoke an international intervention.

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Do diasporas promote civil conflict?

Diasporas > civil conflict? ??? > terrorist strategies? Transnational resources > domestic success?

Question: why did some of these movements for national independence succeed and others fail?

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Defining Terrorism

Premeditated act(s) of violence against civilians during peace time with the goal of spreading anxiety and fear. The victims of terrorism are usually not identical with the targets. Terrorists choose victims with the aim of maximizing psychological effects on bystanders. Terrorism is a tactic/means used to promote political goals.

Terrorism is the peace time equivalent of war crimes.

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Three consequences

Challenging the separation of internal and external security

Domestic use of the militaryTransnationalization of internal security forces

New threats from weak states, not strong states.Anarchy emerges within states.

Forcing states to internalize global security. Ongoing civil war on a global scale.

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

The Power of Non-State Actors

Although non-state actors rarely control territory or populations (as states do), they have gained authority and control over political outcomes.

Multinational corporations: Market power based on financial means.

NGOs: Moral power based on “shaming”, agenda-setting, and expertise.

Criminal and terrorist networks: Coercive power based on violence and corruption.

Success of Transnational Violence

Law enforcement is limited by state borders, drug cartels and human traffickers are not.

Transnational Crime Networks interact with legitimate economy/politics in important ways: Money-laundering (legalize profits; estimated at $1 to 2

trillion annually) Corruption (avoid arrests, etc.)

Explaining Transnational Illicit Networks

State failures: Proliferation of small arms; border controls; high seas.

Globalization: increasing and faster financial transactions; weakening state controls.

Global inequalities: Coca is a viable crop, because licit products can not be sold to protected markets in the US and Europe.

World Drug Report, 2007

United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs

First paragraph from the Executive Summary:

“The world’s drug problem is being contained. In 2005/06, the global markets for the main illicit drugs – the opiates, cocaine, cannabis, and amphetamine-type stimulants – remained largely stable. Particularly notable is the stabilisation seen in the cannabis market, which had been expanding rapidly for some time. In line with a long-term trend, the share of total drug production that is seized by law enforcement has also increased – some 42 per cent of global cocaine production and 26 per cent of global heroin production never made it to consumers” (p. 7).

World Drug Report, 2007

Last paragraph from the Executive Summary:

“The two examples discussed above highlight two extremes of a spectrum: on the one hand, the highly organized groups active in shipping multi-million dollar consignments of cocaine from Colombia to the USA; on the other, the many, uncoordinated players who, responding to market incentives, move heroin from Afghanistan to Russia. It appears that the two regions are vaguely converging, however - cocaine trafficking has become less organized since the days of the Medellin and Cali Cartels, and the heroin trade in Afghanistan, is growing increasingly and is getting more organized” (p. 21).

Is there a global drug problem?

World population: 6.5 billion

Age, 15-64: 4.2 billion (100 per cent)

Non-drug users: 4 billion (95 per cent)

Drug users (at least once a year): 200 million (4.8 per cent)

Problem drug users:25 million (.6 percent)

Changes in the use of cocaine, 2005 (or latest year available), WDR (ES), p. 13

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz

Changes in the use of cannabis, 2005 (or latest year available), WDR (ES), p. 16

Monday, 2/11/2008Hans Peter Schmitz