Information Manipulation and Organised Crime
Project Live
PROJECT TEAM
Dr Tena Prelec
University of Rijeka
Contact: tena.prelec@cas.uniri.hr
Dr Tena Prelec is a Lecturer at the Centre for Advanced Studies on South Eastern Europe (CAS SEE), University of Rijeka. She is formerly a Research Fellow at the Department of Politics & International Relations (DPIR) at the University of Oxford. She obtained her PhD from the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, Centre for the Study of Corruption (CSC), at the University of Sussex. Dr Prelec is also a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and a Research Associate at LSEE-Research on South Eastern Europe, London School of Economics. Her co-authored book, Professional Indulgences: How the UK services kleptocracy and empowers kleptocratic regimes, is forthcoming with OUP in 2024.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Information manipulation has been a growing concern in recent years, particularly in relation to the disinformation tactics employed by authoritarian regimes. However, the role of non-state actors, such as organised crime (OC) groups, in information manipulation has been largely overlooked. This evidence review aims to fill this gap by examining the various ways in which OC groups manipulate information to achieve their objectives and those of actors connected to them. Drawing on Nicholas Barnes' concept of 'political criminality' as well as on Makarenko’s OC-terrorism nexus framework, this study examines the varying degrees of proximity between criminal actors and the state – essential in exploring the complex interplay between OC and information manipulation.
Empirical data was collected from several geographies, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space, including Ukraine, Russia, Moldova (Transnistria), and Albania. The research highlights several dimensions of interest, including cybercrime; the changing opportunities that technology gives to OC groups to shape facts and narratives; the role of regime-connected oligarchs; media ownership by organized crime groups and criminal actors; and the ways in which this interplay is situated within the global political economy of offshore finance – including the wider networks of enablers these actors rely on.
By shedding light on these and other aspects, this research seeks to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the threat posed by the misuse of information, situates it within the literatures on non-state actors and transnational kleptocracy, and puts forward a framework for analysis that can be tested in future work. The expected impact is to provide a more systematised approach to the topic in policy research as well as in academia.
PUBLICATIONS
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Information manipulation and organised crime: Examining the nexus (SOC ACE Research Paper RP22)
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Information manipulation & organised crime: Examining the nexus (SOC ACE Briefing Note BN31)
ENGAGEMENT
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Presented (with John Heathershaw) the paper “The Incumbency Advantage? How Post-Soviet kleptocrats and their UK Enablers Manipulate the International Anti-Money Laundering Regime”, a product of work carried out in the frame of GI ACE and SOC-ACE projects, at the "Fourth Annual Research Conference on Empirical Approaches to Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime" in Nassau, 26-27 January 2023. The conference was organised by the Central Bank of the Bahamas, and the team engaged with policy-makers from the FATF, the World Bank and several central banks. Agenda here.
Brought insights from GI ACE and SOC ACE research to suggest ways of tackling kleptocracy and narrative manipulation in the Balkans, as part of a panel on “Turning the Tide on Dirty Money”, at the Southeastern Europe Democracy (SEE|DEM), Becici, Montenegro, 7-9 May 2023. Agenda here.
Paper presented (with David Lewis) on “Illicit Finance and Russian Foreign Policy since the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine” as part of a panel on “The Geopolitics of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine”, ASN Conference, Columbia NYC, 18 May 2023.
Presented project findings at a conference on “The politics of public relations, reputation management and digital influence in the Global South”, at the University of Oxford, 7-8 June 2023. Agenda here.
Presented project findings as part of a panel on "Information Warfare and the Criminalisation of Cyberspace" at a recent GI-TOC Security and Development Dialogue on "State Threats and Illicit Economies" Find more information on this event and previous Dialogues.
European Commission’s Policy Webinar on Horizon Europe, Cluster 2, Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society projects, on 06 December 2024. Tena drew on findings from her SOC ACE research on Information Manipulation and Organised Crime, during the session which centred on her research as part of the GEO-POWER-EU, project funded by Horizon. During the policy webinar Tena focused on corruption and disinformation linked to foreign influence.
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The State-Crime Nexus: Spotlight on Russia The State-Crime Nexus: Spotlight on Russia (RUSI’s Suspicious Transaction Report podcast, Episode 4)
RELATED PROJECTS
Understanding State Threats
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New dynamics in illicit finance and Russian foreign policy
Research by Prof David Lewis, Dr Tena Prelec and, Olivia Alison examines how Russia is using illicit financial flows to support its military campaign against Ukraine and to further its wider foreign policy goals. Learn more here…