Handbook

Illicit business is an important area of study because it affects all levels of society. It distorts international trade, threatens the health and safety of consumers, and creates significant problems for regulatory and law enforcement agencies. Money laundering, tax havens, counterfeiting, conflict diamonds, terrorist financing, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, trafficking of wildlife, human body parts, and ancient historical artefacts, as well as human smuggling and the modern-day slave trade constitute billion dollar global industries that form an increasingly important part of the global economy. These illicit businesses and dark economies facilitate terrorism, war and conflict, corruption and present serious challenges to the national security of states across the world. This course introduces students to the dark side of international business in order to develop approaches to addressing the challenges they pose.