Alastair Macbeath

GI-TOC Staff Member

South East Asia Coordinator, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Alastair joined the GI-TOC in 2020 and since January 2024 has been the South East Asia coordinator within the Asia-Pacific Observatory. He is based in Bangkok and is responsible for the GI-TOC’s civil society, government and multilateral engagement across South East Asia as well as overseeing programming in the region. His current work includes research into the crime-conflict nexus within Myanmar and exploring the concept of ‘geocriminality’ in South East Asia, namely the state-led instrumentalization of organized crime to achieve foreign and domestic policy objectives.

Prior to taking up his current role, Alastair was an analyst within the global policy team based in London. Here he worked on the mapping of illicit economies related to wildlife crime, analysis of international enforcement cooperation and research into the relationship between climate change and organized crime. Alastair holds an MA(Hons) in history from the University of Glasgow.

Recent publications

Alastair MacBeath, A Climate of Criminality: The Organized Crime and Climate Change Nexus, GI-TOC, 2025, Forthcoming

Virginia Comolli & Alastair MacBeath, The Climate Change – Organized Crime Nexus: Building Pacific Resilience, Vision & Voices, Vol 2.1, 26 March 2025, https://pireport.org/2025/03/26/the-climate-change-organized-crime-nexus-building-pacific-resilience/

Alastair MacBeath, Cashing in on Conflict: Illicit Economies and the Myanmar Civil War, 2025, GI-TOC, https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/illicit-economies-and-the-myanmar-civil-war/

Alastair MacBeath, The Organized Crime and Climate Change Nexus: Improving Climate and ICF Mainstreaming in FCDO’s SOC Portfolio, 2024, SouthSouthNorth

Alastair MacBeath and Amanda Whitfort, Species Victim Impact Statements: Giving a Voice to the Unheard Victims of Environmental and Wildlife Crime, 2024, GI-TOC, https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/species-victim-impact-statements-envitonmental-crime/

Hunter, M., and MacBeath, A. (2023). Lost in Transition: Gold mining and the political economy of Takhar, Afghanistan. SOC ACE Research Paper No. 10. Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham, https://www.socace-research.org.uk/publications/socace-rp24-afg-gold-mining-political-economy-nov23

Alastair MacBeath and Julia Stanyard, Uniting the Response: Challenges in International Law Enforcement Cooperation in Wildlife Crime in Asia and Africa, 2023, GI-TOC, https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/international-law-enforcement-cooperation-wildlife-crime-asia-africa/

Alastair MacBeath, GI-TOC attends CITES CoP19 in Panama City, 2022, GI-TOC, https://globalinitiative.net/announcements/cites-cop19/

Alastair MacBeath, Simone Haysom & Emerson Sy, Pillagers in Paradise: The trafficking dynamics of the Palawan pangolin, 2022, GI-TOC, https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/trafficking-palawan-pangolin-philippines/

Comolli, V. and MacBeath, A., 2022. Special Section Introduction: Exploring the Nexus between Human Vulnerabilities and Environmental Crime. Journal of Illicit Economies and Development, 4(1), pp.1–7. DOI: http://doi.org/10.31389/jied.154

Alastair MacBeath & Gretchen Peters, Expanding the Arsenal: Typology reports, a new weapon in the fight against the online wildlife trade, 2022, GI-TOC, https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/typology-reports-online-illegal-wildlife-trade/

Alastair MacBeath, Disruptive Endeavours: Ethical guidance for civil society organizations monitoring and responding to online trafficking in endangered species, 2022, GI-TOC, https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/ethical-guide-cso-iwt/

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GI-TOC Staff Member