Organised Crime, Violence and Development: Topic Guide Update

Abstract

Since the publication of the GSDRC topic guide on Organised Crime, Violence and Development in 2016, serious and organised crime (SOC) has remained a cause for concern in many countries in the developing world. Marking a difference to previous international development frameworks, the issue has now been included both as an explicit goal and as a cross-cutting issue in the Sustainable Development Goals. This report identifies some of the latest key literature on organised crime and its manifestations, workings and impacts in development settings. The majority of the literature examined for this report focuses on economic, political and governance issues. Socio-cultural and human security aspects of organised crime and any effects they may have on development processes are not at the forefront in this literature. K4D helpdesk reports provide summaries of current research, evidence and lessons learned. This report was commissioned by the UK Department for International Development