The fall of Bashar Al Assad has substantially reshaped Syria’s security landscape, with knock-on effects for the country’s illicit economy. Richard Gardiner explores how the new status quo is driving a rise in extortion and kidnapping in some areas, entrenching these activities in others, and the implications for prospective foreign investors.
Civic organisations, locally known as 'ormas,' have long maintained a reputation across Indonesia as extortionists and ‘thugs,’ frequently demanding money from businesses as part of an established protection racket. Neo Tsotetsi discusses two pre-eminent ormas operating in Jakarta and countrywide, GRIB Jaya and Pemuda Pancasila, to examine their tactics…
With kidnapping incidents in Nigeria persisting, Richard Gardiner examines the current dynamics of the crime and highlights emerging trends shaped by the country’s difficult socioeconomic conditions and troubled security landscape.
In 2025, extortion and associated violence have continued to skyrocket in Peru, targeting a wide range of sectors, including those previously thought to be immune. Shannon Lorimer looks at the conditions enabling and fuelling extortion, as the practice and its implications continue to disrupt commercial operations and threaten political stability.
In August and September, tensions between the US and Venezuela ramped up over the latter’s alleged role in transnational organised crime. Tamsin Hunt examines the wider security and geopolitical implications of counternarcotic militarisation, and broader pressure from the US on regional governments to stem the practice.
Opposition to Israel’s security policy has increased in recent months, including among some of its closest allies, in response to its actions in Gaza, the West Bank, Qatar and elsewhere. Tamsin Hunt considers how this geopolitical shift might affect Israel’s strategic decisions going forward.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s renewed push for an Ethiopian sea port has stoked tensions in the Horn of Africa, threatening the re-emergence of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, as Neo Tsotetsi discusses, the current dynamics lend themselves more to a continuation of the familiar proxy routine than open conflict.
A spike in violence by militant groups in recent months reflects a deteriorating security landscape in Colombia. This increase, alongside weakened security forces, and a breakdown in peace negotiations with armed groups, has heightened concerns ahead of the elections in March 2026, writes Shannon Lorimer.
As several African countries head to the polls in the second half of 2025, democratic freedoms in many states continues to shrink, drawing public ire and concerns over longer-term political stability. Richard Gardiner and Neo Tsotetsi examine these dynamics in Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, and Tanzania as key elections approach.
The five-day border clash between Thailand and Cambodia in July formed part of a historic dispute over undesignated and culturally sensitive areas of their shared border, but Tamsin Hunt argues that other political and economic considerations on both sides also played an important role in this latest escalation.
In mid-2025, informal miners in Peru blockaded highways in multiple parts of the country in response to the government’s decision to remove thousands from a registry which allowed them to operate legally. With tens of thousands of miners affected, and the government facing growing pressure from lawmakers to curb illegal mining, Shannon Lorimer argues…
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faces a backlash after a leaked phone call about a growing border dispute with Cambodia, driving cracks in her coalition government, and fears over another military coup. But Thailand’s military could instead exploit other areas of influence to capitalise on the current instability and increase its political…