Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Security and Democracy

In some NIMD programme countries in Latin America and Africa, ‘underlying forces’ negatively influence and hamper the strengthening and functioning of political parties and by extension, the development of the state. One of the major challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean is the significant illicit industry that functions under direct or indirect political protection. Illicit financial flows and the sophistication of organised criminal networks, some of which have morphed into transnational networks, have transformed the regional’s political and security landscape. The funding of parties and candidates is just one of the many fronts where the battle between organised crime and democratic institutions is played out. Investing in politics is a natural step for an industry that requires weak law enforcement and a measure of control over crucial public institutions. Increasingly, the 'attack on the state', but also the other way around when a state uses illicit networks to gain political power or territorial control, does not only take place in production zones such as Colombia and Bolivia, but in the same degree in distribution or transit zones such as in Guatemala, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana. In order to have a baseline on the situation in Latin America, on behalf of NIMD, Dirk Kruijt conducted a preliminary research in January this year in Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia and Colombia. The publication can be downloaded below.

'The underlying forces'

In cooperation with the CIC, International IDEA and the Open Society Institute (OSI), NIMD contributes to a project focusing on understanding these ‘underlying forces’ that influence the functioning of the state in general and the strengthening and functioning of political parties in particular. In Lima, 25 journalists, researchers, analysts and politicians came together to present their cases from Latin America and Africa. You can read the general conclusions in the meeting report listed below. A selected group of experts of this seminar was requested to work out their case in more detail. During the workshop of 1-2 September, these experts discussed the manner in which relations between the different groups (such as criminal networks, gangs or private business groups), institutions (such as political institutions, security services, justice and other regulatory institutions) and persons within these institution are emerging in their countries in order to discover the impact they have on governance and state building. Moreover, the aim of the workshop was to identify whether current analytical tools and policy responses are effective and respond to the challenges that are highlighted. Next to several expert from Mexico, Colombia, Jamaica, Guyana, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Africa, also organizations such as NIMD, UNDP, International Peace Institute and the Centre on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation participated in the workshop.

Food for thoughts

In order to be able to identify the emerging relations between different groups, institutions and persons, it is important to first rethink what transnational organized crime (TOC) is. TOC is often perceived as organised with a hierarchy, but actually it should be seen as a conglomerate of networks without hierarchies, without a center, highly flexible and highly adaptable to changing situations. We also must understand the nuances on the different forms that TOC takes and manifests at national and local level. And finally, we must understand the history of the relations between crime, politics, and economy in any given context, as well as considering the market cycles as determinant forces that shape such relationships. On the one hand TOC threatens states in its accountability, institutionalisation, etc., but on the other hand, it can also provide services to the public, such as employment, access to patronize networks or the construction of infrastructure. Also, there is no clear correlation between weak states and the level of violence as a consequence of the presence of illicit networks in a country. Furthermore, during the workshop, the importance of the 'super fixer' was widely recognized. A 'super fixer' is a person who can supply illicit or grey market merchandise to a range of actors – some of them at war with each other – without regard to ideology or theology. To reveal and dismantle the 'super fixer' could have a deeper impact on fighting crime than is now internationally recognised. In dealing with transnational crime and its associated challenges, it is necessary to take into account 3 elements according to Dr. V. Felbab-Brown, Fellow of the Brookings Institution:

1. Law enforcement, although not always very effective, remains critical
2. It is important to tackle the highlighted challenges with a broad social-economic approach; it does not only take place in the security sector, it is also about improving the economy, education and the health situation in a country
3. Mobilising civil society is of critical meaning. Without a strong popular demand for transparency and accountability, policies for fighting crime will not be effective.

In the coming months, 6 cases will be further finalised and transformed into short policy papers. You can find the publication on our website as soon as they are finished.