Research Focus

SUSTAINABILITY

Illicit trade poses a direct challenge to the high quality of life of future societies. It undermines an efficient allocation of resources through a functioning market, facilitates the overexploitation of natural resources affects the sustainability of the environment and it poisons good governance practices involving both public and private actors. The multifaceted implications of illicit trade remain difficult to qualify and quantify due to its unregulated nature. This hinders effective countermeasures as well as progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SECURITY

Illicit trade fuels conflicts, authoritarianism and terrorism, which threaten human rights and good governance. Criminal networks portray a fundamental role in trafficking in-kind goods and services, as their control over resources induces between-groups violence, leading to organized crime, political violence, and wars. States themselves can also take advantage of illicit trade by initiating policies that are threatening international peace and stability. These processes are transforming traditional security risks and introducing new challenges, such as cybercrime, and exacerbating old ones, such as resource scarcity, which further complicate the multifaceted nature of illicit trade.

SAFETY

Illicit trade has a negative impact on public safety and public health. Trafficking in drugs and psychotropic substances pose direct threats to individuals and their social environments. Individuals are victims of fraudulent practices, as safety regulations and procedures are bypassed through black and grey markets. As a result, counterfeit and illegally manufactured goods, such as pharmaceutical products and the like, are being sold on the market and are purchased by consumers whose wellbeing could be compromised. Striving to identify these trade and economic flows is necessary to ensure public safety and health protection.