Rethinking Intersections of Crime and Terrorism: Insights from Political Economies of Violence

Abstract The post–Cold War environment has ushered in an era of threats from terrorism, organized crime, and their intersections giving rise to the growing literature on so-called crime–terror nexus. This article takes stock this literature, assesses its accomplishments limitations, considers ways deepen it conceptually, theoretically, empirically. To challenge assumptions informing studies suggest avenues for future research, draws ideas scholarship political economies violence. These insights are used probe (1) non-state actors that form nexus, (2) conditions under which nexus is likely emerge, (3) varied effects criminal–terrorist intersections. emphasizes ties criminal terrorist groups local politics, society, economy, relationships competition, rather than cooperation, often characterize these ties. operate cannot be understood without considering role state constellations. structure resource influences both preferences crime consequences terrorist–criminal convergence, also mediated by participation crime.