Comparative Perspectives on Linkages between Violent Extremism and Organized Crime in Africa

ABSTRACT Complex linkages between violent extremist and organized criminal groups are a defining feature of contemporary African security. As comparisons across the Sahel-Sahara, Lake Chad Basin, and Horn of Africa attest, the interactions of these groups vary in terms of how intentional, proactive, and formal they are, and how much they develop on the organizational or individual level. These realities, which express themselves differently across contexts, must all be considered to accurately situate cases on the spectrum of coexistence, cooperation, and convergence that is frequently used in Africa-focused discussions about policy response. The comparisons illustrate two aspects of variation within the spectrum’s established categories of cooperation and convergence that deserve further attention: (i) the extent to which cooperation occurs organizationally versus individually, and (ii) the extent to which convergence happens across multiple criminal markets when it occurs. Tracking these aspects of linkage can facilitate classifications of the linkages between violent extremism and organized crime that are based on a more precise and contextualized articulation of the mechanisms through which cooperation or convergence may be in play.