Illicit Firearms Markets and Organized Crime

Illicit firearms are a key enabler of organized criminal groups and illegal trade. They facilitate conflict over control of these markets, deter legitimate state actors from intervening, are deployed to threaten and coerce communities, to extort money from victims, and to facilitate a range of crimes. The sale of illegal firearms and organized crime combine to cause significant economic, social, and political harm. There is a clear and pressing need for better understanding of how illicit firearms markets are related to other forms of transnational organized crime, including drug trafficking.

Illicit Firearms Markets and Organised Crime is an interdisciplinary collection with contributions from leading and emerging experts whose research considers the intersections between illicit firearms, organized crime, and criminal networks across the globe. This cutting-edge research considers the trade of illegal firearms in different regions, with a specific focus on the interconnections and interrelationships between this trade and organised crime. Each chapter considers a particular global region and / or a specific thematic area, and sheds light on the links between the markets, the trafficking of firearms, and organized crime.

A number of key themes emerge from this collection including: the methods and routes by which firearms enter illicit markets; illegal firearms as facilitators and enablers of other criminal markets and crimes; the role of illicit firearms in exacerbating organized crime and violence; as well as policy responses to illegal firearms and the efficacy of such, including unintended consequences.