Posted on 27 Jan 2014

Instead of the usual monthly brief, this January the Global Initiative are presenting our “What to Watch in 2014” hotlist of the top ten issues that are going to be important in the year to come.

  1. 2014: A marker for the effectiveness of UNTOC, the global instrument against transnational organised crime;
  2. Organized Crime on cyber-steroids: how cybercrime is changing the game for all forms of criminal behaviour;
  3. Of Presidents and Princes: the global fight against wildlife crime;
  4. New paths in the America, gang truces, legalisation and more;
  5. Poisoning the Arab Spring: emerging criminal markets in the Middle East;
  6. Organized crime and the development debate, will TOC be properly integrated into the post-2015 MDG debate?
  7. Amped for Amphetamines: the global phenomena of meth;
  8. Boom, bust and bitcoin, what is in store for the virtual currency and what are the implications?
  9. Organized crime looks East: Asia impacts source, transit and destination of criminal flows; and finally
  10. Maritime maurading: from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Guinea – what next for piracy?

While all criminal flows cause harm in multivariate ways, we highlight these ten because, for a number of reasons, 2014 will prove a pivotal year for addressing these issues.  Either because an opportunity is presented, or because a window might be closing to have a real impact.

We welcome your reactions to our list – for discussion and debate.  Or propose us some more via Twitter or on our Facebook page.

As usual, in this edition, you will find all of the publications on TOC that came out in December, and links to upcoming events of interest.

One of the primary goals of the Global Initiative is to encourage the sharing of information, experience and ideas, so we welcome your engagement.  In 2014 we will be looking to experiment with some new ways to reach out, including webinars, twitter-views and other concepts.  So we need your feedback on what adds value to your work.  Email us anytime at secretariat@globalinitiative.net.

Happy New Year!