Illicit Trade and Globalisation COST Action_GLITSS

Illicit trade affects all aspects of contemporary societies. It enables security threats to materialize, such as natural-resource-fuelled conflicts and terrorism. It presents safety hazards, such as those created by counterfeit medicines and drugs. It threatens the sustainability of our societies by consuming excessive planetary resources and undermining the regulated functioning of international markets. 

The COST Action GLITSS – standing for Globalization, Illicit Trade, Sustainability, and Security – contributes to filling the research gap around illicit trade.
Our 3 working groups focus on 
1) the phenomena of illicit trade (the smuggling and trafficking of goods and money), 
2) the platforms behind it (norms, actors, and regulations), and 
3) the responses to it (enforcement, alternative measures, and legalization) respectively. 

GLITSS creates an interdisciplinary research network characterized by the inclusiveness and epistemological diversity that defines the research field.