Introduction to “The Evolution of Illicit Flows: Displacement and Convergence among Transnational Crime”

Attention to the displacement and convergence of transnational crimes as a result of border security measures has increased substantially since the late 2010s. While the media and politicians have often underlined the potential threat posed by these dynamics, scholars have also begun to investigate these phenomena. Nonetheless, the concepts of displacement and convergence of transnational crimes are often cited freehandedly while their true nature and extent of occurrence remain largely unknown. Within that context, the chapters collected in this book investigate the displacement and convergence of transnational crimes, with a special focus on trafficking which takes place between North Africa and Europe. The first section of the book presents and critically analyzes the theories on which convergence and displacement among transnational crimes rely, and outlines the history and current situation of drug trafficking and migrant smuggling activities in the region. The second section presents a collection of empirical studies on various aspects of displacement and convergence. These chapters rely on diverse quantitative methodologies as well as ethnographic analyses, which together provide understanding of the phenomena and insight into the development of effective policies. The third section gives recommendations for the implementation of strategies to manage the smuggling of migrants and human trafficking, and also outlines potential developments for the future study of displacement and convergence of transnational crimes in terms of methodologies, understudied dynamics, and challenges in investigating these topics

Green Energy and Black Economy: Mafia Investments in the Wind Power Sector in Italy

In recent years, the EU has supported actions to develop the green economy. Among these, incentives to sustain the growth of the wind power (WP) sector were welcomed as strategic for promoting environmental sustainability. This paper argues that the enthusiasm in supporting the green economy, without a preliminary assessment for crime opportunities, could end up fueling the black one. In particular, looking at the Italian case, the intention to facilitate wind farm construction provided remarkable (economic and procedural) incentives but neglected the issue of crime infiltration in the legitimate economy. Consequently, investments in wind farms also became a very lucrative business for organized crime (OC) groups. Through an analysis of the WP sector in Italy, this paper aims to show that, in territories characterized by a significant presence and control of OC groups, regulation could have an adverse effect providing opportunities for OC infiltrations in the legitimate economy. In particular this paper discusses whether investments in the WP sector in Italy are more likely in those regions with higher levels of OC presence and analyzes the role played by OC groups in cases of criminal infiltrations in the WP sector