Although the challenge of the interconnection of war, crime and violence is a formidable one, there is always hope. Perhaps most importantly, and most productively, that hope is increasingly coming not from grand transnational programs—which are often admirable, but historically often suffer from the problems of seeking consensus and settling for the lowest common denominator—but instead grassroots initiatives rooted in civil society.

Recommended Reading:

Thematic Programme on Action Against Transnational Organized Crime

This key document from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2011) represents as close as there can be to a global campaign to recognize that “States and international organizations have largely failed to anticipate the evolution of transnational organized crime into a strategic threat to governments, civil societies and economies” and do something about it.

Fighting the Nexus of Organized Crime and Violent Conflict while Enhancing Human Security

Vanda Felbab-Brown’s first chapter in a wider study published in 2012 notes the extent to which “Human insecurity has greatly intensified over the past two decades in many parts of Latin America,” to a considerable extent as a result of the drug trade and “multifaceted institutional weaknesses,” but provides thoughts on how best to combat this.

Saferworld Annual Review 2011-12

This substantial document from the NGO Saferworld, whose role is “to contribute to sustainable change and lasting peace,” demonstrates the importance of combining strategic political dialogue with grassroots local capacity-building.

Corruption Fighters’ Toolkits

Global anticorruption NGO Transparency International may be best known for its annual surveys of bribe-taking, but it offers “toolkits” based on successful practice around the world to help local governments, civic activists and others play their part in fighting the problem from the bottom up.

How to Expose the Corrupt

In this 2009 TED talk, Peter Eiger of Transparency International argues that “Some of the world's most baffling social problems… can be traced to systematic, pervasive government corruption, hand-in-glove with global companies.”

From Warlords To Peacelords: Local Leadership Capacity in Peace Processes

How can warlords become peacemakers and support and even lead the transformation of conflict societies? This 2004 report from the UN University’s International Centre of Excellence for Conflict and Peace Studies explores several case studies to identify the internal and external factors which can help this process.

Bombs and Business: How can Entrepreneurs in Fragile States Manage the Risks of Violent Conflict?

Aid is often a very imprecise tool with which to address the problems of fragile, failing, developing and disrupted states, and may even create new grounds for conflict or wealth streams for warlords. As this 2013 post from the UN University argues, long-term economic and social uplift will often depend on “helping small firms cope with and manage risks of violent conflict” so that they can play a full role in development “before, during and after conflict.”

Enhancing Socio-Economic Opportunities for Ex-Combatants in Post-Conflict Environments

Ending wars is important, but unless the combatants have alternative forms of livelihood and community to which to return, demobilizing one conflict simply creates a source of violent entrepreneurs for another, as this 2012 International Alert report discusses.

Outsourcing the Big Stick: The Consequences of Using Private Military Companies

Addressing how and why “the outsourcing of military functions is always accompanied by a loss of control over the use of force,” this paper by Ulrich Petersohn, published by the Harvard University Weatherhead Center for International Affairs addresses how states can develop policies to mitigate these risks.