convergence

Chapter 4
The Illicit Supply Chain
Duncan Deville
I n the age of globalization, the increased interconnectedness of the world allows individuals
and groups to come together around common causes across national boundaries in order to
form networks. 1 No longer restricted by physical, geographical, or political borders, networks
increasingly operate outside of traditional government controls. In some instances, these networks
form with the purpose of challenging traditional government authority. These challenges
are not always bad. Some networks develop for the purpose of promoting the advancement
of society. In doing so, they put pressure on governments to address political and social issues
that are otherwise ignored or overlooked. 2
Although some networks can be ultimately beneficial to the state, others have emerged with
the capacity—and often even the objective—to be detrimental to it. When the end goal of a
network is the advancement of its own parochial agendas at the expense of society, it can become
a danger to society and the state. Among the most dangerous networks are those comprised
of individuals and organizations engaged in criminal activities. Due to the globalization of the
marketplace, illicit products and activities are no longer localized problems confined to individual
states. Instead, the scope of criminal activities has expanded to macroeconomic levels, infecting
the global marketplace via illicit networks. These networks function outside of the traditional
state framework, spreading their operations across multiple organizational and geographical
boundaries. Accordingly, illicit networks have no allegiance to any one government, state, or
society at large. Instead, these networks are driven by market forces; their loyalty is reserved only
for whatever increases their profits.
The damage that illicit networks inflict on states stems from their extensive use of market
mechanisms to advance parochial and often antisocial goals at the expense of society and the
public good. Crime flourishes in unstable and chaotic environments. Thus, in order to expand
unchallenged in the marketplace, the more powerful networks are not satisfied with merely
evading government and law enforcement detection. Instead, they seek and encourage direct
challenges to—and ultimately the erosion of—state authority. Where these challenges are
successful, networks are better positioned to expand criminal enterprises without effective
government interference. When they gain enough power, they may threaten the overall stability
of the state, its region, and even the world at large.
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