Mapping Global Insecurity
The Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism (INSCT) and the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, located in the Maxwell School, joined forces in a research program focused on the development of a new approach to international security analysis. In “Mapping Global Insecurity,” we focus on scanning the world for areas dubbed Black Spots, defined as physical areas that are outside of effective governmental control. Black Spots are dominated by alternative, mostly illicit, authority structures (criminals, warlords, terrorist organizations), and are capable of breeding and exporting insecurity (e.g., illicit drugs, conventional weapons, weapons of mass destruction, terrorist operatives, illicit financial flows, strategic/sensitive know-how) to faraway locations. Building on research conducted so far, this program will aim to detect, map, and analyze such Black Spots, seeking to understand the ways in which they export insecurity.
LINK: Visit the project page at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs
Goal / Impact
This program seeks to develop an early warning system for alerting governments and international organizations of possible dangers, and to provide guidance on how Black Spots may be managed to minimize the harm they cause. The ability to pinpoint and monitor Black Spots on an ongoing basis offers the possibility of tracking the movement of criminals and terrorists, their financial assets and illegal weapons, and their skills and expertise. Such a capability is critical to intelligence gathering and necessary for threat interception and the prevention of the escalation of insecurity.
Background
Black Spots constitute a considerable security challenge because they are largely invisible to the outside world. Our project discovers Black Spots through the triangulation of data regarding anomalous events and transfers in particular regions of the globe. Consider several examples: the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that are formally part of Pakistan, but are currently believed to be the home of Osama bin Laden and the leadership of al-Qaeda, elements of the Taliban, and various insurgent groups. South Ossetia, formally a part of the state of Georgia and the place where the Georgians and Russians clashed militarily last August, contains other such areas. The St. Regis/Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation that crosses the border between the New York and Quebec is yet another example of an area outside of effective government control of either country that facilitates smuggling of illicit products and people through the border without being detected.
Current Research
To date, we have identified and mapped nearly 50 Black Spots around the world and begun to assess the types of interactions taking place within these areas as well as the various forms of insecurity that they are exporting and their destinations. We are continuing research on areas where conditions seem fertile for the presence of a Black Spot. Our research so far suggests that Black Spots may serve as nodes for a global network of transnational criminals and terrorists.
For more information on this project, please contact MGI Program Director, Dr. Bartosz Stanislawski at: bstanisl@maxwell.syr.edu
SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor awarded INSCT a Chancellor's Leadership Award in recognition and support of this interdisciplinary work with the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.
