Oct. 17, 2017

Webcast: Defining "Success"

In this thought-provoking interview, National Defense University Professor Tom Marks analyzes insurgencies in Sri Lanka and Colombia to illustrate the difficulty in determining what “success” looks like when confronting the problem of impunity and illicit power. He further discusses the adaptation that enabled those nations’ militaries to turn defeat into victory, and the cost of that adaptation to international reputation and support.

Oct. 17, 2017

Webcast: Radicalization, Social Media, and Gender

In a fascinating narrative, researcher Maeghin Alarid explores the phenomenon of online recruitment and radicalization, from the perspective of the Islamic State’s use of social media to recruit women and sustain its extremist vision of a new Caliphate. Alarid’s cutting edge research adds additional perspective to ongoing discussions and debate.

Oct. 17, 2017

Webcast: Traffickers and Truckers

Investigative reporter and best-selling author Gretchen Peters shares her insights into the means and methods used by illicit power structures, and in particular, the activities that exemplify illicit economic activity. She further describes the processes she uses to understand the operational environment, and offers suggestions on how to address the information-gathering challenge.

Oct. 17, 2017

Webcast: The Odessa Network: Understanding Enablers

In this short webcast, David Johnson, the Executive Director of C4ADS, a Washington, DC-based think tank that specializes in network analysis, discusses the lessons that C4ADS learned during its process of unraveling the Odessa Network, a Russian-controlled arms trafficking enterprise. He explains C4ADS’s open source methodology, and further outlines how the C4ADS team has subsequently applied its techniques to other illicit activities including wildlife trafficking and the proliferation of hate speech.

Oct. 17, 2017

Webcast: Sacred Documents and the Enemies of Peace: Why Agreements Matter

This short webcast by rule of law and security sector reform expert Michelle Hughes, provides an overview of the importance of peace agreements and settlements to efforts to contain illicit power in the aftermath of conflict and political transition. Contributing authors highlight key issues, while Hughes provides a roadmap for analysis and comparison using case studies from Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, and Colombia, as well as contextual consideration of the conflicts in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Oct. 17, 2017

Webcast: Convergence in Criminalized States

Using Latin America as a regional case study, veteran journalist Douglas Farah presents his analysis, based on more than three decades of investigation, into the convergence of insurgency, extremism, corruption, and transnational organized crime. His detailed narrative provides a comprehensive overview of the phenomena described in Convergence, Impunity, and Beyond Convergence., This 30-minute webcast is an excellent scene-setter for deeper study into the totality of the issues explored in all three publications.

Oct. 17, 2017

Webcast: Convergence, Beyond Convergence, and the Challenge of Impunity

In this short webcast, author, editor, and political scientist Michael Miklaucic, aided by contributors to Impunity and Beyond Convergence, defines the problem posed by illicit actors and their impact on the future of our national security and the risks to state sovereignty and international order.

July 1, 2017

Webcast: The Problem of Police

Together with international policing experts Mark Kroeker and David Beer, security sector reform expert Michelle Hughes discusses the unique challenge of effective policing development. Using several real-world examples, Hughes, Kroeker, and Beer provide guiding principles for program design and a roadmap for creating policing accountability within the rule of law.