Methods Not Motives: Implications of the Convergence of International Organized Crime and Terrorism

Abstract

Transnational organized crime and corruption are topics that security planners are increasingly visiting in their analyses of terrorism, most often examining how terrorism and transnational organized crime intersect and diverge. Clarifying these relationships is vital to approaching the current turbulence in global politics. This article examines the relationships between these two entities to arrive at the conclusion that transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups often adopt similar methods, they are inherently striving for divergent ends. Crime is primarily an economically driven enterprise, while terrorism remains rooted in political pursuits. While we note that such a relationship results in a number of consequences for policymakers and practitioners from both the US and the larger global community, an important conclusion we revisit throughout the article is the need for scholarly research on this relationship.