Summary: Technological innovations have fundamentally altered the landscape of illicit trade. From war lords to state actors, top-down forces have harnessed technology to expand illicit trade in everything from pesticides to rhino horns. In this episode, Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang discuss the current state of the global illicit economy with expert Louise Shelley of George Mason University. Shelley explains the roles of market forces, criminal actors and non-criminal actors in the illicit trade market. Shelley is the Omer and Nancy Hirst Endowed Chair for Civil Intellectuals, a professor in the Schar School of Government at George Mason University and the founder and director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center. She also is the author of a new book, “Dark Commerce: How a New Illicit Economy is Threatening Our Future.”
