Overview

In 2026, the global illicit landscape looks markedly different from that at the turn of the millennium. Technological transformation, geopolitical fragmentation and the increasing convergence of criminal, state and commercial activity have fundamentally reshaped organised crime and the environments in which it operates. Yet many of the conceptual frameworks underpinning research, policy and operational responses remain rooted in assumptions developed in a very different international moment.  

To mark the publication of the latest special issue of the RUSI Journal, ‘The Changing Face of Organised Crime’, RUSI is convening a dedicated event to explore how organised crime is evolving, how states are responding, and whether existing approaches remain fit for purpose in 2026 and beyond.  

Speakers include authors from across the special issue, bringing together expert perspectives spanning research, policy and operational practice. They will explore how organised crime is adapting to emerging economic, technological and regulatory environments, the extent to which multilateral responses are keeping pace, and the ways in which organised crime is becoming intertwined with contemporary geopolitics.  

The event provides an opportunity to reflect on these themes and their implications for academic, policy and operational thinking and practice. By bringing together diverse perspectives, it encourages renewed consideration of the frameworks shaping contemporary responses to transnational illicit activity, at a time when organised crime is becoming increasingly adaptive and hybrid, and clearer ways of understanding the threat are urgently needed.  

This Special Issue of the RUSI Journal is one of the most comprehensive and thoughtful analyses of organised crime I have seen in a career of over 30 years spent tackling the problem in the UK and Europe. It offers a timely and authoritative new lens on the convergence of organised crime, security and geopolitics.

Sir Rob Wainwright

Former Executive Director of Europol, 2009–2018

From a UK law enforcement and border security perspective, this publication is incredibly valuable in bringing together cutting-edge research with operational reality. In my opinion it makes a persuasive case for the shift in approach that is required from the decision-makers and practitioners who face the rapidly changing threat from hybrid organised criminality in an ever more globalised and uncertain world.

Martin Hewitt

Former UK Border Security Commander and Chair, National Police Chiefs' Council

This Special Issue moves organised crime out of the traditional margins of security thinking and confronts practitioners with the threat as it actually operates today, making an important contribution to policy discussions, especially across Latin America. Most consequentially, the collection documents organised crime's emergence as a political actor in its own right, no longer content to corrupt or evade the state, but willing to capture it. For practitioners confronting this phenomenon, this Special Issue offers an invaluable strategic perspective.

Martin Verrier

Secretary for the Fight Against Drugs and Organized Crime, Ministry of National Security, Argentina

 

Read the Special Issue

Speakers

Kenote speaker: Sir Stephen Kavanagh KCMG QPM DL, Former Executive Director of Police Services, INTERPOL

Panel speakers and moderators

  • Dr Jonathan Eyal, Associate Director, RUSI
  • Cathy Haenlein, Director, Organised Crime and Policing, and Guest Editor of the Special Issue, RUSI
  • Heather Marquette, Professor of Development Politics, University of Birmingham
  • Mina Chiang, Director, Humanity Research Consultancy
  • Alexander Kupatadze, Associate Professor, King’s College London
  • Elijah Glantz, Research Fellow, RUSI
  • Ian Tennant, Director of Multilateral Engagement, GI-TOC
  • Will Lyne, Head of Economic Crime, Metropolitan Police
  • Magda Long, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Global and National Security Institute
  • Jennifer Scotland, Research Analyst, RUSI
  • Matthew Redhead, Senior Associate Fellow, RUSI

How to Attend 

This event is an open to RUSI Members. A drinks reception will follow the event from 16.30. If you are a non-member and would like to attend, please email [email protected]

If you have any questions regarding this event, please email [email protected]