On July 14th, the IPI Vienna Office launched a new book entitled Peace Operations and Organized Crime: Enemies or Allies? The book, published by Routledge, is edited by Adam Lupel of IPI, and James Cockayne, formerly of IPI and now Co-Director of the Center on Global Counterterrorism in New York.

Organized crime has become a major threat to international peace and security. It is present in almost every theater where the UN has peace operations. This book explores how, in some cases, peace operations and organized crime are clear enemies, while in others they may become allies. Case studies include Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Kosovo, West Africa, and Somalia.

“Considering the severity of the threat posed by organized crime, the UN and its member states are ill-prepared,” said Cockayne, adding “new approaches and tools are needed.” “This book is a further contribution to IPI’s research and recommendations on dealing with organized crime,” said Lupel, recalling previous publications like the IPI Blue Paper on Transnational Organized Crime (2009).

“Given the risks taken by the men and women in peace operations, and the dangers confronted by war-torn communities, coherent strategic thinking and flexible peace operational tools must include ways of confronting organized crime,” write the editors.

The book launch was attended by a number of senior officials, including Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Lamberto Zannier, the new Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and former head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The event was preceded by a discussion among a group of experts who looked at how the UN can mainstream the issue of organized crime in its work, and how more effective use can be made of threat assessments. IPI is currently undertaking a project – funded by Switzerland and Norway – called Peace without Crime: Towards an Integrated Response to Transnational Organized Crime.

Read more about the book Peace Operations and Organized Crime at routledge.com.