Entering the Black Hole: The Taliban, Terrorism, and Organised Crime

Authors

  • Matthew D. Phillips
  • Emily A. Kamen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15664/jtr.945

Keywords:

Taliban, Organized Crime, Terrorism, Crime-Terror Nexus, Narco-Terrorism, Black Holes

Abstract

Cooperation and imitation among crime and terror groups in recent years has given rise to a crime-terror nexus. A linear conceptualisation of a crime-terror spectrum, suggests that complete convergence of crime and terror in a failed state can give rise to a ‘black hole.’ Theoretical models of the crime-terror nexus, however, do not specify the means by which a crime-terror group enters this black hole state, yet others do not. Using the Taliban movement as a case study, this article presents a theoretical extension of black hole theory, using organisation-level characteristics to merge black hole theory with the crime-terror continuum.


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Published

2014-09-01

Issue

Section

Articles