We are run by the Secretariat of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime in close partnership with our Steering Committee. We have four annual prizes to honour the best and brightest in organized crime research, and we have an affiliated peer-reviewed journal, Journal of Illicit Economies and Development, which you can access online free of charge.

The IASOC Annual Prizes recognize outstanding contributions in the field of organized crime studies. IASOC is awarding prizes in four categories in 2024:

Best Journal Article published in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED)

Best Journal Article recognizes the best article published in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED) for each year. The winning article is selected by members of the award committee from among four articles nominated by the editors of the JIED.

Best Ph.D. Thesis / Dissertation

Ph.D. theses or dissertations on the topic of organized crime defended successfully three years before the year of the award (after 31 July 2021 for the current award cycle). Can be nominated by the candidate’s supervisor or department chair.

Best Book

The Best Book recognizes the best book or monograph on the broadly defined area of organized crime. Books may be published on commercial or academic presses; self-published books are ineligible. Nominated books must be published no earlier than 2021. Books can be nominated by book publisher(s) or author(s).

Distinguished Scholar

Intellectuals who have made significant advances in the study of organized crime throughout their careers.

IASOC Annual Prizes 2024 – Winners

Best Journal Article published in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED)

“The Connection Between Legal and Illegal Firearms Markets: How the Change in Gun Control Policy in Brazil Intensified This Link” by Roberto Uchôa de Oliveira Santos from the University of Coimbra.

Abstract

In recent decades, the global debate on gun control has been prominent, with many countries adopting more restrictive policies. Brazil followed this trend by implementing stringent measures in 2003; however, the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro in 2019 introduced normative changes aimed at facilitating public access to firearms and ammunition. Throughout his term, the legal firearms market doubled, allowing access to weaponry previously restricted to the general public. The analyzed hypothesis suggests that these normative changes, especially those related to the quantity and authorization of acquisition of previously restricted firearms, altered the types of firearms in circulation, strengthening the interaction between legal and illegal markets. Using data from the mandatory firearms re-registration, a total of 962,782 firearms were analyzed. The assessment of the increase in circulation of these firearms in the illegal market was conducted through the analysis of seizures in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, revealing a significant growth in seizures of these types of firearms, possibly correlated with the increase in their circulation. Three police investigations were selected to exemplify how the connection between markets intensified, allowing criminals to obtain firearms in the legal market that were previously only accessible through international trafficking or diversion from state agencies.

About the author

A former civil police officer in Rio de Janeiro and currently a federal police officer, Roberto Uchôa de Oliveira Santos graduated in Law from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, has a master’s degree in political sociology from the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense and is currently studying for a doctorate in 21st century democracy at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. In addition to his academic career, he holds important positions as a member of the board of the Brazilian Forum on Public Security and a board member of the National Federation of Federal Police Officers. He is the author of the book “Firearms for who? The search for firearms” and he is a lecturer, writer and researcher. After years of working in the field of public security, Oliveira Santos realized the damage caused by the circulation of firearms in society. Faced with this realization, he returned to his studies and focused efforts on researching the subject. Since then, he has contributed to the debate through academic papers, books, book chapters, articles in specialized publications, participation in various radio and television programs, as well as podcasts and documentaries. His main objective today is to advocate for greater control over the circulation of weapons in society and for transparency in transactions.

Best Ph.D. Thesis / Dissertation

“Offshore Currents: Examining Securitisation and De-securitisation of Criminal Deportations to Tonga, Samoa, and Cook Islands” by Henrietta Susan McNeill from the Australian National University.

Abstract

Criminal deportations to the Pacific Islands region from the United Sates, Australia and New Zealand have increased significantly over the last decade. Interrogating criminal deportations to Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands, this thesis tracks securitisation throughout the deportation process, from the deporting state and society, across the border to the receiving state and society of citizenship. It shows that the deporting and receiving states both have very different ways of undertaking securitisation and de-securitisation, according to their social, cultural, and (post)colonial histories. This thesis makes a theoretical contribution by defining and providing empirical context for reciprocal securitisation by deported people as a simultaneous society, drawing attention to the challenges that deported people face on their return. By examining de-securitisation (both active and passive), it analyses the reintegration models in place to support returning deported people, and the discourse shaping their return. Deportations have been collectively securitised at the Pacific regional level, enabling an ongoing and pervasive influence on securitisation by deporting states, but also creating an opportunity for Pacific states to use securitisation as a tool of agency and political utility to encourage deporting states to take responsibility for their role in deportations. Securitisation theory was selected on the basis of the large critical security studies scholarship on migration which uses this theory, and the contemporary use of the theory by Pacific scholars to articulate the role of de-securitisation and securitisation as tools of empowerment in the region.

About the author

Henrietta is a Research Fellow (Pacific Security, Geopolitics, Regionalism) in the Department of Pacific Affairs at the ANU. Her research focus is Pacific regional security and the security-migration nexus, particularly transnational crime, criminal deportations, border security, citizenship, and security cooperation. Henrietta holds a PhD from the ANU examining the securitisation of criminal deportation to the Pacific Islands, particularly Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands. During her studies, she was a 2021-22 Fulbright scholar visiting the University of Hawai’i, UCLA, and Lewis and Clark Law School (Oregon); and was named a La Trobe Indo-Pacific Emerging Leader in 2021. Henrietta is a co-investigator on two Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grant projects: ‘Pacific maritime security coordination: partnerships, priorities, and possibilities’ (2024-2026) and ‘Statecraftiness: mapping competition, cooperation, and coercion in the Pacific Islands’ (2022-2024); and was previously the Research Associate on another: ‘Mapping Security Cooperation in the Pacific Islands’ (2020-2023).  She is the co-editor of the forthcoming volume ‘Power and influence in the Pacific Islands: Understanding statecraftiness’ (under contract with Routledge, due 2024) with Joanne Wallis, Alan Tidwell and Michael Rose.

Best Book

“Between Immunity and Impunity: External Accountability of Political Elites for Transnational Crime” (Cambridge University Press 2024) by Yuliya Zabyelina from the University of Alabama.

Abstract

How do top-level public officials take advantage of immunity from foreign jurisdiction afforded to them by international law? How does the immunity entitlement allow them to thwart investigations and trial proceedings in foreign courts? What responses exist to prevent and punish such conduct? In Between Immunity and Impunity, Yuliya Zabyelina unravels the intricate layers of impunity of political elites complicit in transnational crimes. By examining cases of trafficking in persons and drugs, corruption, and money laundering that implicate heads of state and of government, ministers, diplomats, and international civil servants, she shows that, despite the potential of international law immunity to impede or delay justice, there are prominent instruments of external accountability. Accessible and compelling, this book provides novel insights for readers interested in the close-knit bond between power, illicit wealth, and impunity.

About the author

Dr. Zabyelina’s research covers the study of crime, criminal behavior, and criminal justice systems from a global perspective. She examines how crime and justice are interconnected across national borders, how they are influenced by global forces and trends, and how they impact individuals, communities, and societies on a global scale. Her scholarship is interdisciplinary and draws from the theoretical foundations and methodologies of international law, criminology, and sociology. Before joining the University of Alabama, Dr. Zabyelina was Associate Professor of International Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York (CUNY). She has also worked as a consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and taught at George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and at the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA). From April 2021 to 2023, Dr. Zabyelina held the position of Chair for the International Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS). Presently, she serves as the ACJS Alternate Representative to the United Nations. She is a member of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC) and Secretary of the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Best Book Honorable mention

“The Rise and Rise of Illegal Ticket Touting: An Ethnography of Deviant Entrepreneurship” (Routledge 2023) by Alessandro Moretti from the University of Copenhagen.

Abstract

This book presents an ethnographic study of contemporary ticket touts in the UK. Despite the recent interest in the topic of black-market ticket sales, media coverage and parliamentary interventions over the last ten years have revealed a widespread lack of knowledge with regard to the phenomenon of touting and the players engaging in the practice. The Rise and Rise of Illegal Ticket Touting sheds light on the world of touting and delivers an authentic picture of the individuals involved, of their methods, values, and motivations for performing ticket touting as an organised, entrepreneurial deviant activity. The touts’ varied methods of buying and selling tickets, the hierarchical structures and strict ethos of their criminal organisations, and their specific modi operandi for evading detection and arrest both on the streets and online are focal points of the study. Of equal importance are the touts’ attitudes, perceptions, and adaptations to (or outright dismissal of) society’s legal and moral frameworks. This book illuminates why historic and renewed attempts to challenge ticket touting have been unsuccessful, focusing on inadequate legislation, a lack of enforcement, and the widespread corruption and exploitable loopholes that exist within the official, primary ticket market. An accessible and compelling read, The Rise and Rise of Illegal Ticket Touting will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, social policy, policing and all those with an interest in live music and sport and the hidden practices that lurk beneath the surface.

About the author

Alessandro Moretti is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen, where he is affiliated with the Microsociology of Online Deviance Lab and the Centre for Global Criminology. Alessandro’s areas of expertise include illicit entrepreneurship, black markets, deviance, vulnerability, and exploitation – themes he has explored in the contexts of hateful online material, illegal ticket resale, the grey areas of legality and morality, and technology in human trafficking and policing.

Distinguished Scholar

Peter Andreas, John Hay Professor of International Studies, Brown University

Peter Andreas joined the Brown Department of Political Science in the fall of 2001, and holds a joint appointment with the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. He was previously an Academy Scholar at Harvard University, a Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and an SSRC-MacArthur Foundation Fellow on International Peace and Security. He received his BA from Swarthmore College and PhD from Cornell University. Andreas is the author, co-author, or co-editor of eleven books. These include “Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America” (2013, Oxford University Press, selected by Amazon and by Foreign Affairs as one of the best books of the year), “Blue Helmets and Black Markets: The Business of Survival in the Siege of Sarajevo” (2008, Cornell University Press), “Policing the Globe: Criminalization and Crime Control in International Relations” (2006, Oxford University Press), “Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide” (3rd ed. 2022, Cornell University Press), and “Killer High: A History of War in Six Drugs” (2020, Oxford University Press, finalist for the Lionel Gelber Prize for best book of the year). He has also written a political memoir, “Rebel Mother: My Childhood Chasing the Revolution” (2017, Simon & Schuster), which was selected by Foreign Affairs as a best book of the year. His latest book, “The Illicit Global Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know,” is under contract with Oxford University Press. Andreas has also written for a wide range of scholarly and policy publications. Other writings include congressional testimonies and op-eds in major newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe and The Guardian.

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