Getting Smart and Scaling Up: The Impact of Organized Crime on Governance in Developing Countries. A Desk Study of Guyana
Abstract
This paper is divided into four sections. Section I outlines the political and institutional context of Guyana, with special attention paid to the conditions which facilitate instability and create opportunities for organized criminal activity to flourish. These enabling conditions include a highly factionalized political system, a history of political gangs, high levels of corruption, and a largely cash-based economy. Section II examines the types of organized crime occurring in the country, with particular focus on drug trafficking. Section III addresses the impact that organized criminal activity has had on political governance, paying particular attention to the case of convicted drug trafficker Shaheed Roger Khan and his links to the security services and political officials during the early-mid 2000s. Section IV highlights government responses to organized crime and the facilitating conditions, international assistance efforts, and provides some concluding remarks.
Citation
Walker, S. Getting Smart and Scaling Up: The Impact of Organized Crime on Governance inDeveloping Countries. A Desk Study of Guyana. Center on International Cooperation, New York University, New York, USA (2013) 19 pp.
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