Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy

An easy, informative, and enjoyable read that has aged well.Naím makes a compelling argument that many so illicit transnational activities are intimately connected to each other, interwoven into adaptive and mutually reinforcing networks. This includes the usual suspects of arms and drugs, of course, but also human trafficking, intellectual theft, money laundering and financial crimes, exotic animals, raided antiquities, stolen art, and human organs. He paints a picture of international crime that departs from the usual portrayal of monolithic cartels, crime syndicates, and mafias to reveal the supply chains for illicit traffic look remarkably similar to those for legal businesses. Often enough, these illicit networks share more than a few components with legal supply chains, from factories to banks to freight forwarders, only differing in the final destination for arms shipments, or the lack of royalty payments for pirated music, movies, and software.The first chapters sketch out each area of illicit transnational activities. These read quickly, perhaps because certain aspects of globalization that seemed novel in 2005 have since become obvious or even assumed in the intervening 15 years. Chapter 9, "What are Governments Doing" illustrates that, even in the 21st century, government bureaucracies remain necessarily and structurally constrained in jurisdiction, hobbled by inefficiencies and inter-departmental turf wars, and retarded in the speed of execution. And that's the best case, in advanced and high-income countries with low levels of corruption, operating within their own borders. Transnational criminals, on the other hand, demonstrate Hayek's local knowledge problem by consistently outmaneuvering governmental and inter-governmental efforts. Despite the steady stream of tactical victories - big drug busts and the like - governments can't overcome the gravitational forces of supply and demand that drive each one of these interconnected illicit economies. The chapter closes by looking hopefully, if soberly, to quixotic individual efforts as the means to somehow enact change against transnational crime. The following chapter covers the role of non-state actors (NGOs and business associations) against these illicit networks.Naím's final chapters, on why we are failing and the way ahead, strike a realistic balance between the immensity of the challenges and the persistent limitations in dealing with them. Under the heading "Give Governments Goals They Can Achieve", he argues that governments and civil society should put aside the moralistic impulse to go after everything, which the previous chapters have shown to be a fool's errand, and instead prioritize the most critical illicit activities.On the whole, highly recommended.

"Illicit" by Moises Naim is a good primer on the underground economy. Mr. Naim's experience as an Editor at Foreign Policy magazine appears to have helped the author hone his skills at synthesizing an impressive quantity of third-party research to support his thesis. It is also evident that Mr. Naim's discussions with numerous high-level personal and professional contacts around the world have helped him reflect on the topic at length, leading him to offer many pages of thoughtful critique and analysis. The end result is a balanced and nuanced book that makes a valuable contribution to our understanding about an increasingly urgent and worrisome problem.Some might also read Mr. Naim's description of how globalization empowers illicit trade as a riposte to free market cheerleaders such as Thomas Friedman, who tend to equate entrepreneurship with utopianism. To the contrary, we find that many counterfeiters and traffickers are highly skilled and creative people who excel at exploiting decentralized and flexible underground marketing, sales and production networks for personal gain but at great expense to our collective peace and security. According to Mr. Naim, "profits...was the name of the game" for nuclear weapons traders such as A.Q. Khan, and it is on this basis that the struggle to curtail illict trade must be based.Given that governments around the world are currently losing this struggle, Mr. Naim argues for a strategy of harm reduction including the removal of the artificial barriers that create myriad profit opportunities for criminals. For example, this might include the decriminalization of marijuana. The author reasons that law enforcement could better focus on much more dangerous activities and on enforcing the laws in more readily attainable ways, such as prosecuting major drug dealers and the employers of illegal aliens. I found Mr. Naim's recommendations to be refreshingly commonsensical when compared with the more politically expedient but ineffective supply-side fixes that are proposed by far too many policymakers today.Regrettably, Mr. Naim fails to take the book to a deeper level of analysis by making a stronger connection between neoliberal ideology, democracy and illicit trade. To be sure, Mr. Naim highlights the fact that some places on our planet have become anarchic, controlled by criminal gangs of all sorts whose economic power has allowed them to buy off their local governments (if they exist at all). However, he does not acknowledge the fairly obvious fact that illicit trade might represent precisely what neoliberalism desires: pure capitalism without the restraining influence of government. Might his recommendations have been made stronger by insisting on ways to achieve meaningful social and environmental justice through radical democratic reforms, rather than plugging holes in an already far too leaky and decrepit system of global neoliberal governance?Setting aside this reasonable difference in opinion, I found this book to be an engagingly interesting and informative read. I highly recommend it to all.

I was given this book for Christmas. It is several years old, but I suspect that the situation is an order of magnitude worse today. This is not a political book. If anything. I suspect the author, who was editor of Foreign Policy Magazine for 14 years, is slightly left of center.I knew the situation was bad, but it is much worse that I thought. Even at that time, illegal trafficking in slaves, arms, drugs, fake goods, stolen intellectual property, endangered plant and animal species, fake medications (many deadly), dirty money and other items contributed as much as 10% of the global economy. The criminals have moved beyond hierarchical organizations like the mob and the cartels to be loose networks on international criminals that move between country, failed states, and criminal black holes to deal in any number of the illicit goods I mentioned. Governments are fighting a losing battle, hamstrung by regulations, differing laws in different sovereignties, and borders. Call this crime without borders, highly profitable crime that touches not only all corporations, but all people. Read this book.Robert A. Hall. Author, "The Coming Collapse of the American Republic."

Item advertised as 'Good' condition. Item received was in 'Fair' condition at best.Cover creasing/damage.Binding is worn beyond 'Good' cond.

Good Book. It gives the reader a clear bundled perspective on the different crimes and their impact caused by globalization and porous borders. You have read the articles and seen the reports on the news but Naim pieces it all together and delivers it in an interesting book.

Very disappointing. Very basic info

An excellent write up of what goes on in the murky world of counterfeiting, money laundering, drugs...