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The article deals with the issues of prospects for increasing the level of protection of interests in the field of customs security of Ukraine, including through the expansion of institutional capacity of the Sta Customs Service in the field of law enforcement. The author analyses the existing functional powers of customs authorities in the field of combating criminal offences related to illegal movement of goods and items across the border. The current state and mechanisms of implementation of measures to combat smuggling and other crimes at the border are investigated. The importance of granting domestic customs authorities the right to carry out operational and search activities and conduct pre-trial investigations in smuggling cases is considered in detail. It is noted that after the entry into force of amendments to the legislation criminalising smuggling of goods, almost all law enforcement agencies in Ukraine, except for customs, have the authority to counter smuggling. At the same time, they are the only ones who can directly detect the facts of concealment of goods, objects and substances from customs control or movement outside customs control. The author emphasises that the customs administrations of almost all European countries have the powers of criminal prosecution and the right to conduct operational and investigative actions, which significantly increases the effectiveness of combating such crimes. Accordingly, without similar powers, the customs service of our country cannot count on a full partnership. The author emphasises the requirements and recommendations of the World Customs Organisation regarding the formation of institutional capacities of national customs administrations with the inclusion of the widest possible and unified range of law enforcement functions in their powers. The expansion of procedural powers will enable the Ukrainian customs service to become an equal partner in the interaction and exchange of intelligence with similar services of other countries in the fight against commercial fraud and drug trafficking. It is emphasised that the ability to detect illegal acts related to smuggling of goods, including through the use of operational and investigative measures, will enable customs authorities to ensure prompt and high-quality investigation of criminal offences and prosecution of both direct perpetrators and organisers of crimes. Ways of implementing international standards in the field of law enforcement procedures to strengthen border security are highlighted. An additional argument for the expansion of such opportunities is that the prospect of membership in the European Union imposes on Ukraine the task of protecting not only its own customs interests, but also the eastern borders of the EU as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Debt-financed migration has been a subject of academic interest for the past two decades. This phenomenon can be divided into two main mechanisms: salary deductions and upfront payments. In salary deductions, facilitators provide migrants with upfront funds that are later deducted from their salaries by their employers. In upfront payments, migrants borrow and mortgage assets to obtain capital to cover migration-related expenses upfront or upon arrival. These expenses are then repaid through remittances. Most of the existing literature on debt-financed migration has taken an economic perspective that emphasizes the risks of debt bondage in salary deductions and vulnerability in upfront payments. Studies critically examine the role of states, brokers, and markets in impacting migrants’ well-being and labor and human rights. However, considering the increasing intensity of migration flows and the widespread use of debt as a funding mechanism, evaluating the relevance of the conventional economic framework is essential. I argue this framework can be supplemented with a richer and more empirical understanding of agency that shows how migrants can effectively use debt for empowerment and protection against debt bondage and vulnerability. To support this argument, I delineate an economic anthropology framework highlighting migrants’ agentic use of debt to their advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every day, we hear or see many different words, terms and events such as hoard, hoard hunter, hoard hunting, detector, expert, intermediary, illegal excavation, smuggling of antiquities, plundering past cultures, being registered and selling products at home, from people through the press and publications, from time to time. time is read and heard in the field (archaeological excavation sites). Unfortunately, these acts or actions, which have the same purpose, are increasing day by day in the Anatolian geography and the precautions are insufficient. For identification purposes, plundering and transferring the Anatolian cultural program is considered a normal and necessary person to sell throughout the country. The equipment used is religion, and the people who perform these actions include religious symbols and prayers by people who believe in God and the Prophet, and even some men are included in these events. This amount of rainfall has never been seen in the history of Anatolia. Neither the Romans attacked the Hellenes of the Classical Age nor the Christians attacked the pagan Romans' past that much. In this article, the definition that was previously mentioned in a different way is summarized and then it is stated why this disease should be avoided. Because unnecessary, unconscious and illegal excavations 'under the name of describing' cause loss of life and financial savings of those who describe nature while there is no cultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incidents of nuclear and radiological smuggling in the Indian Ocean are a matter of concern. Attempts to smuggle nuclear material within India have also been reported as recently as 2021. Indian security agencies previously have also seized natural uranium in coastal states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bengal indicating how vulnerable the Indian coast is to radiological and nuclear smuggling. The Nuclear Security Index has also consistently ranked India below China and Pakistan despite their poor record on nuclear non-proliferation. These facts highlight concerns regarding the possible misuse of nuclear and radiological material by criminal and terrorist networks. Since India is targeted by terrorist groups and lies in the vicinity of countries and routes that see frequent nuclear and radiological trafficking, there are inevitable implications for the Indian coastal security system. This article identifies and analyses these security implications and argues for a beefing up of India's coastal security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nepal is a biodiversity-rich country harboring endangered wildlife species. Despite commendable achievements in conserving charismatic wildlife species like the Tiger and Rhinoceros, Nepal is still a pivotal point for the illicit wildlife trade. In this perspective, we explore the current situation of wildlife poaching and smuggling, factors conducive to such activities, and present some minimum practitioner steps for what should be tried to prevent such a situation in Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By signing and ratifying the United Nations Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, the United States promised to the international community and to its citizens that it would adhere to a legal criminal definition of migrant smuggling that protects migrant families by only targeting in its language the organized offenders that aim to benefit financially or materially. After it made this promise, the United States did not amend 8 U.S.C. § 1324 to conform fully with the protocol. Contrary to the demands of the protocol, the statute does not establish as an element of the base offense of migrant smuggling intent for financial or material benefit. Instead, a prosecutor can decide whether to charge as a migrant smuggler one family member who assists another in entering unlawfully to the United States. The repercussions of this overbroad understanding of migrant smuggling are felt most in the immigration context in which a mother entering unlawfully into the United States while holding her infant is barred from seeking legal admission to the United States. This Article analyzes the protocol and finds that the United States falls short of its promise. I argue for amending 8 U.S.C. § 1324 and I propose that the United States extend the protocol's targeted migrant smuggling definition to its immigration statutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Turkey's Kurdish borderlands, smugglers occasionally entered insurgent corridors, the guerrilla-controlled mountainous passages, to bypass state control. This article takes insurgent corridors to frame sovereignty as monopolization of space-making and proposes space-making as a key analytic to examine the forms of sovereignty that facilitate or undermine specific extractive practices. As a spatial form, corridors are central to the claiming and exercising sovereignty and extraction without having complete territorial control across a bounded space or the whole population in that space, the territoriality identified with nation-states. By controlling corridor space and monopolizing the traffic in them, colonial empires, nation-states, corporations, and rebel movements exercised sovereignty and extracted value that is carried or generated by corridor traffic. The insurgent corridors further complicate corridor sovereignty as the Kurdish guerillas monopolized corridor-making without monopolizing and extracting the corridor traffic under a post-nation-state political vision that favors grassroots democratized organization of mobilities and livelihoods rather than centralized exclusive authority and biopolitical governance on them. The insurgent corridors constituted what I call countersovereignty, a practice contesting not only the existing state sovereignty but also political models of nation-state sovereignty and territoriality. While anthropologists understand refusal as disengagement from actors claiming sovereign superiority, the insurgent corridor countersovereignty entailed a distinct form of political refusal that rejects mimicking state sovereignty and associated forms of biopolitical governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the legislative model of criminal prohibition of smuggling. It is stated that the emergence of new and modernization of existing methods of smuggling is due to the correlation of the State's customs policy in connection with the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation and the introduction of the legal regime of martial law. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic analysis of the amendments and additions made to Section VII of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in terms of criminalization of smuggling, to determine their effectiveness and expediency, and to formulate scientifically sound recommendations for improving criminal law regulation of social relations related to smuggling. The author establishes that the main factors which influenced the process of recriminalization of commodity smuggling are: an increase in the number of manifestations of smuggling of goods and their unreliable declaration; a decrease in revenues to the State Budget of Ukraine; stimulation of unfair competition; entry of products of inadequate quality into the domestic market; an increase in the shadow economy in the public sector; criminalization of smuggling of goods in certain EU countries; ineffective application of administrative liability measures. The author analyzes the need to strengthen criminal liability for commodity smuggling at the level of the European Union as a whole. The author elucidates the approaches available in the criminal law doctrine to solving the problems associated with the introduction of criminal liability for commodity smuggling. It is substantiated that in case of any change in the system of current criminal legislation, it is necessary to justify this type of rulemaking, i.e. to assess the admissibility and appropriateness of a criminal law novelty. The author emphasizes that it is inexpedient to distinguish criminal law provisions on smuggling by the type of subject matter. The author concludes that the model of criminal legal prohibition of smuggling chosen by the legislator determines the differentiation of criminal liability, and at the same time is a manifestation of the shortcomings of legislative technique, since it gives rise to the emergence of legislative models of smuggling with different objects of criminal legal protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violations of customs regulations by subjects of foreign economic activity and the smuggling of goods are pressing issues for the socio-economic development of Ukraine. The purpose of the article was to investigate the main causes of smuggling and to develop ways to prevent violations of customs regulations. The work analyses the statistics of customs violations and the volumes of smuggling, which are one of the factors in the significant shortfall of tax revenues to the budget. The method of generalisation was used to summarise the results of a survey by the Institute of Economic Research and Policy Consulting of foreign economic activity subjects regarding the impact of “grey import” problems and smuggling on their performance indicators. Using the chronological method and the analysis method, the chronological changes in the objects of smuggling were analysed according to criminal law, which affects the directions of customs authorities’ work in the customs control process. The study summarises the foreign experience of criminal liability for smuggling, indicating more severe punitive measures than in Ukraine. The volumes of cigarette smuggling and the budget revenue losses from such smuggling were analysed using the statistical method. The results of the analysis indicate that the volume of cigarette smuggling in Ukraine is one of the largest in Europe. The causes of smuggling are identified and can be divided into those related to the activities of customs authorities and those related to the legislative and executive bodies of Ukraine. The main ways to counter smuggling and reduce violations of customs regulations are substantiated, which should be systematic and comprehensive and not only involve the control function of customs authorities but also improve the socio-economic development indicators of the state. The practical significance of the results lies in summarising the causes of smuggling and customs regulation violations and developing proposals for their prevention, which can be used in the work of customs authorities and in the implementation of the strategic goals of the National Income Strategy

Implementation of the State policy in the activities of the Customs Service is carried out through the system of law enforcement, human rights and judicial authorities. Counteraction to violations of customs legislation is entrusted to the customs authorities of Ukraine. The activities of the Customs Service are associated with the need to obtain information on the security of the state border, on persons crossing the border, and on the items being transported, which is provided by the Security Service of Ukraine. The state law enforcement policy is implemented not only through the activities of law enforcement agencies, but also through the system of human rights bodies of state power. These include the institution of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, as w ell as the bar and notary. The specificity of law enforcement agencies is the combination of law enforcement functions with organizational, managerial, control and inspection functions. The Customs Service plays a central role in preventing and detecting offenses related to the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine. The State Customs Service of Ukraine is a central executive body that ensures the state customs policy, organizes the functioning of the customs system, manages the area of management entrusted to it, and is responsible for its condition and development. The Customs Service is accompanied by military border guard units, which ensures the effectiveness of its tasks in preventing and detecting smuggling and customs offenses. Criminal legislation is evolving to increase liability and recognize smuggling as a criminal offense, taking into account the value of goods moved across the customs border of Ukraine. The type of the transported goods determines the qualification of the offense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the search for ways to combine the efforts of customs and law enforcement agencies in the fight against illegal attempts to move goods, objects or substances across the customs border of a country. The concept and basic principles of law enforcement activities are studied, as well as the criteria for inclusion in such a system. By analyzing the powers of a number of state bodies, the author has compiled a list of law enforcement agencies involved in the fight against smuggling. It is emphasized that customs authorities today can be fully attribut ed to law enforcement agencies. Approaches to understanding the interaction of law enforcement agencies, its principles and directions of implementation are considered in detail. The author critically assesses the absence of a legal act regulating the procedure for interaction of bodies in in the fight against crime. While there is definitely a need for this, although the issues of interaction are locally outlined in special laws on individual state (law enforcement) agencies. It is recognized that modern regulation of issues of interaction between law enforcement agencies, and their list should be updated in the light of the reforms of such bodies, and must necessarily include customs authorities. It is emphasized that the problem of duplication of tasks and functions, chasing indicators and creating the illusion of an active fight against crime, has been relevant for more than two decades. Despite changes in legislation, liquidation or reorganization of previous bodies and the creation of new ones, renewal of personnel and units, the lack of clear delineation of powers of law enforcement agencies, and sometimes of law enforcement agencies, and sometimes dual competence or departmental ambitions, lead to a distortion of the actual picture of the organization of countering smuggling. The author outlines certain risks of interference with the organization and implementation of customs control that arise from a destructive perception of interaction. The institutional capacity of customs authorities as a lever is considered for improving the mechanism of interaction between the State Customs Service and law enforcement agencies. The author substantiates the expediency of including operational units to the list of subjects of operational and investigative activities. The author additionally argues that the prospect of granting customs authorities to conduct pre-trial investigations, and it is proposed to to delimit the powers of the authorities conducting it, for which purpose to determine the jurisdiction of the crime of "Smuggling of goods" for the bodies of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Smuggling health goods given the importance and critical nature of health services should be undeniably addressed and controlled by all countries. This issue is especially more widespread in developing countries with more damaging consequences. This paper therefore aims to identify and analyze the challenges of preventing smuggling of health goods in Iran. Method Within this qualitative study, we conducted face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 30 purposefully recruited key informants and stakeholders in the detection, prevention, and combating of health goods smuggling. Each interview was analyzed thematically, using an inductive approach to generate codes, then categorized and presented in the form of main themes and sub-themes. Maxqda 11 assisted in coding, analysis, and data management. Results Three main themes emerged representing the challenges of prevention of smuggling in Iran in the areas of anti-smuggling policy development, including categories of inefficient policy and plan, and failure to reach agenda; policy implementation; categorized into actors, resources and instruments, and implementation guarantee; and finally monitoring and evaluation; including, procedures and practices, and the role of surveyors. Conclusion Prevention of smuggling health goods proves to be a highly complex, challenging, and multi-faceted practice. Therefore, strengthening policy-making, regulatory frameworks, and facilitation functions about smuggling, counterfeiting, and corruption should be promoted in parallel.

In gangster movies, mob bosses worry that a 'rat' will betray them. Now, criminal wildlife poachers might need to start fearing real rats. Scientists have trained giant African rats to [...]

The Bahamas is a relatively small archipelago challenged by a broad spectrum of diverse, complex, and consequential national security threats that extend to the ‘unknown’ of a global security threat equation. To address the threat spectrum, Bahamian policymakers incorporated the National Crime Intelligence Agency (NCIA) within the national security architecture. For various reasons, Bahamians are sceptical about, scared of, and uncomfortable with the idea or reality of the NCIA. As such, the NCIA has to pass the legitimacy test as it steps out of the shadows. This article provides a preview into the legitimacy test of The Bahamas’ professional secret intelligence service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tor browser is widely used for anonymity, providing layered encryption for enhanced privacy. Besides its positive uses, it is also popular among cybercriminals for illegal activities such as trafficking, smuggling, betting, and illicit trade. There is a need for Tor Browser forensics to identify its use in unlawful activities and explore its consequences. This research analyzes artifacts generated by Tor on Windows-based systems. The methodology integrates forensic techniques into incident responses per NIST SP (800-86), exploring areas such as registry, storage, network, and memory using tools like bulk-extractor, autopsy, and regshot. We propose an automated PowerShell script that detects Tor usage and retrieves artifacts with minimal user interaction. Finally, this research performs timeline analysis and artifact correlation for a contextual understanding of event sequences in memory and network domains, ultimately contributing to improved incident response and accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the role of the naval system of Cartagena de Indias during the eighteenth century, especially the elements related to its financing and supply needs. Cartagena was the most important naval base in the southern Caribbean, and this made it necessary to deploy a coastguard system that was capable of curbing smuggling and, at the same time, reinforcing coastal surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the end of the 19th century, a new framework of references was proposed that introduced substantial variations for Spain in the Moroccan question, in such a way that what was now at stake was an imminent threat to national security Both liberals and conservatives understood that the Rif was a region of vital geostrategic interest in the defense of the Peninsula. And the control of the Rif began to be questioned to the Majzén by the French imperialist interference. The events had a fortuitous origin, and were originated by the smuggling practiced by some members of the Kabyle of Bocoya. Swindled by the Europeans with whom they trafficked, they assaulted some ships sailing near the Moroccan coast and took their crews hostage. This is what has been wrongly called the conversion of the Bocoyas into pirates. French diplomacy then forged large-scale intervention projects, and moved a diplomat to the territory, the Algerian Si Al.lal, who tried to convert the Central Rif into a republican protectorate. In this work, using diplomatic documentation preserved in Alcalá de Henares, we analyze how the Hispanic government response resolved this problem with notable success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade a series of events including the outbreak of the Syrian war, drought and tireless insurgencies in sub-Saharan Africa triggered the largest wave of displacement ever seen through and around the Mediterranean. The majority of those bound to Europe through the Mediterranean are smuggled by criminal networks. The proliferation of Trafficking and Smuggling of Human Beings (TSHB) between the Sahel and the Libyan shores feeds into the evolving threats of terrorism, crime and insecurity in the Sahel, West Africa and Europe. This paper explores the involvement of armed groups in TSHB in the Central Sahel and Libya. The author argues that the involvement of armed actors in the TSHB in the Central Sahel and Libya is not uniform and not systematically used for terrorism financing. Criminal networks and armed groups leverage opportunities created by conflict to generate profit and project power. They operate in convergent spaces benefitting from state fragility, and shared social networks. The link between terrorism and migrant smuggling and trafficking, if found, remains localized benefitting individuals rather than organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By drawing on ethnographic and historical accounts of migrant smuggling and forgery from the smugglers' perspectives, this essay shifts the focus from a state-centric understanding of smuggling as a criminal activity conducted by 'greedy' individuals and 'mafia rings', to a specific form of practice that operates through a series of concrete material techniques. It argues that smuggling recognises and reworks the material and technological features of borders which are vulnerable to reappropriation. These vulnerabilities inherent to the materialisation of abstract notions such as borders are understood and discussed as 'reproducibility', 'repetition', and 'imitation'. Smuggling not only reconfigures the apparatus of borders to provide support for those who are denied access to mobility, but also can teach us something about a specific mode of critique that I call a material mode of critique. The material mode of critiquing borders goes beyond a discursive mode which mostly locates politicians, academics, and activists as the critics of border politics. This mode can open up new possibilities of thinking about and against borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper analyzes how the socio-economic development of an industry co-evolves with the articulation of imaginaries of emancipation and domination. Drawing on political discourse theory, I analyze the US' interracial porn movie industry (1916–2022) from its early, illicit beginnings through its commercial mainstreaming. Organized agents have developed this industry by articulating imaginaries that evoke economic emancipation, but provide new political and fantasmatic relevance to origin myths of racial and gendered superiority. The articulations of each generation of organized agents transgressed prior episodes' limits to visualizing interracial sex. Yet, transgression remained firmly within the bounds of the disciplinary and security power apparatus of white patriarchical domination. In particular, successive imaginaries modernized the stereotypical myths of black Jezebels, black Brutes, pure white women, and civilized white men. Modernization of myths, technological democratization and mainstreaming went hand in hand. I provide critical explanations for these findings that contribute to the organizational literature on imaginaries. This includes the entrepreneurship-as-emancipation literature, and scholarship on myths, feminism and prefigurative organizing. Emancipatory imagining requires challenging the disciplinary and security limits of origin myths. By default of political and fantasmatic challenging of these mythical limits, they function as empty signifiers that are easily adapted to contemporary imagining. As a result, entrepreneurs' and performers' socio-economic emancipation discourse effectively re-articulates an imaginary of domination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is based on the increasing threat of sedimentation in water areas by utilizing technological developments through the use of High Speed Crafts (HSC). The increase in threats is faced with obstacles for the authorities in balancing surveillance facilities and infrastructure with the technology used by smugglers. In addition, the need for intelligence data that is integrated with all related apparatus also requires a lot of development. This paper uses a qualitative approach. The data used are secondary data derived from related documents from several institutions, mass media articles and literature reviews related to strategic intelligence. Researchers concluded that smuggling using High Speed Crafts (HSC) in Indonesian waters has been frequent for the past few years. In 2019 and 2020, the DJBC and the Ministry of Finance succeeded in uncovering the practice of smuggling using HSC which had the potential to cause considerable state losses related to alleged money laundering crimes. The mode of HSC smuggling is carried out by the ship-to-ship method from large ships. Enforcement is challenged because the surveillance vessel facilities have a capacity that is not faster than the ships owned by the perpetrators, plus the changing point of the HSC of the smugglers spread across Sumatra and Java. An important evaluation of the supervision of smuggling in the HSC mode is at least related to increasing the quantity and capacity of DJBC through human resources and surveillance ship facilities that have capabilities above the facilities owned by smugglers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been scrutinized he history of illicit trade between Ukraine and Russia since 2014 until nowadays. It has been analyzed the changes in legal system, which are related to the ban of trading operations and the retrospective issues of decriminalization of smuggling. The author has got known about the role of customs and law enforcement bodies’ activity within combating illegal trade and violation of customs rules. The 10 years’ statistics data about the tendencies of the decrease in the smuggling index of various goods has been issued since 2022. It was proved that the most popular contraband goods were counterfeit tobacco products, auto parts, fuel, weapons, drugs, cultural values, etc. The activities of smugglers led to economic losses and failure to receive funds to the state treasure. The importance of the necessity to mix the methodological approaches in social and humanitarian sciences has been stressed. A wide historiographical base is used: legal studies make it possible to analyze the legislative chronology, economic – the consequences for the state that we have as a result of illegal trade. Periodicals of the World Customs Organization, reports of law enforcement and customs bodies represent a statistical value for analysis. There has been proved that the scrutinized issues about the contraband between Ukraine and Russia during 10 years of ‘hybrid’ war are topical and make the necessity to find out the new data about illicit trades activity. The topicality is also related to the absence of the complex scientific works which research this chronological period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article explores the growing threat of extremist violence in coastal West Africa, specifically in countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, and Mauritania. The violence, originating from the Sahel region, has seen a significant increase in incidents and casualties in recent years. The article emphasizes the importance of regional security cooperation, intelligence sharing, and community-focused training to effectively respond to this complex threat. It also highlights specific areas of concern, such as the tri-border zone between Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, and the W-Arly-Pendjari Park Complex, where militant groups have established hideouts and exploited local connections. The text discusses the presence of militant Islamist groups in the WAP Park Complex and the challenges they pose to security and local communities, including targeting artisanal gold mining sites, engaging in trading and extortion with livestock herders, and attempting to impose their interpretation of Sharia law. The article stresses the need for national responses to address the expanding insecurity, such as improving access to social services, developing income-generating activities, and building trust between security forces and the population. It also highlights the importance of regional security cooperation, particularly through initiatives like the Accra Initiative and the Multinational Joint Task Force, to counter violent extremism and stabilize the region. The text emphasizes the need for enhanced regional coordination and a multitiered approach to countering violent extremism in coastal West Africa, including adapting [Extracted from the article]

Th is article examines a case in which three fisher men were sentenced for people smuggling after having rescued 99 refugees from their sinking ship near Indonesia. Th e analysis is grounded in the juxtaposition of three different sets of mobility rules-Indonesian migration law, customary law of the sea, and international law for search and rescue at sea. It argues that recent mobility restrictions at the Indonesian state level implemented to deter maritime movements are in violation of longer-standing local and international sets of mobility rules meant to protect lives at sea. Th e findings show a legal precedent that could cause potential non-state rescuers to abandon rescue to avoid state sanctions, while states may enjoy impunity for disregarding international law concerning the rescue of people in distress at sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically re-examines the narrative that the Israeli system of spatial control has an exclusive negative impact on the West Bank economy. It focuses on the burgeoning fuel smuggling industry, which grew to constitute nearly one-third of the total consumed fuel in the West Bank by 2018. The article posits that the impacts of Israeli control on West Bank-Israeli economic relations involve an interplay between structural top-down imposition and Palestinian agency exerted from below. Drawing from documentary evidence and semi-structured interviews conducted with smugglers, Israeli, and Palestinian policymakers, the research reveals a paradox, finding its theoretical explanation in borderland studies. The barriers and fragmentation meant to oppress Palestinians create opportunities for new Palestinian economic beneficiaries. The article traces the emergence of smuggling networks that expand Palestinian-Israeli connections and cooperation. It concludes considering how the structure-agency interplay, which characterizes the Israeli colonial structure, affects the study of Palestinian political economy under Israeli occupation. This includes the influence of smuggling on supply, demand, pricing, and power hierarchies within the West Bank's fuel sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May 2015, the EU decided to launch a common military response against immigrant traffickers and smugglers known as the European Union Naval Force Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED)—and Operation SOPHIA. Its aim was to dispose of smugglers' vessels and other smuggling assets while still in Libyan territorial waters. Although this specific aim had never materialized, leading to the operation's termination in March 2020, the original decision had led to a securitisation process in the Mediterranean in the form of an increasing deployment of militarized bordering practices and techniques under the umbrella of Operation EUVAVFOR MED. The present paper presents a normative analysis of EUNAVFOR MED through the prism of Floyd's Just Securitisation Theory (JST). It focuses on the just initiation of securitisation, which is the first element of JST and a parallel to JWT's ius ad bellum that contains five conditions: Just Reason for Securitisation; Morally Justifiable Referent Objects; Right Intention; Macro Proportionality, and Reasonable Chances of Success. The paper concludes these conditions were not all met in all three phases of EUVAVFORMED and highlights the complexity of normatively assessing the securitisation of migrants' smugglers in the context of this European maritime military operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological evidence from the Nanhai No.1 shipwreck provides tangible evidence for the study of maritime trade during the Song Dynasty, revealing the presence of a significant amount of smuggled metal in the cargo, suggesting possible involvement in smuggling activities. Merchants may have used tactics such as under-reporting and clandestine transportation of prohibited items to evade supervision, thus engaging in the illicit trade of metal materials and artifacts banned by the Song government on the international market. Valuations of the goods recovered from Nanhai No.1 indicate that the value of iron and silver exceeds that of porcelain, while the value of gold objects and currency exceeds that of porcelain by one-third. Research also suggests a possible shift in the model of maritime trade during the Song Dynasty, from government-led to merchant-led, with a gradual weakening of government supervision and control over trade. This change may be related to reforms in trade organization and the government leniency toward prohibited activities. Despite repeated government bans, smuggling of metal goods continued throughout the Song Dynasty, with no significant reduction in the scale of the metal trade due to the profit-seeking behavior of private merchants, highlighting the inadequacy of government control over illegal smuggling activities. This complex interplay between economic gain, national security, private interests and government control had profound implications for China, the broader South China Sea region and beyond, while the outflow of metal artifacts also facilitated the exchange of goods, technology and culture between China and the aforementioned regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illegal immigration, often known as unlawful or unauthorized migration, is the movement of individuals over national or regional borders without complying with established processes and regulations. This sort of migration violates the target country's legal system, which governs and limits people's admission and residency on its territory. As a result, this phenomenon presents a challenge to receiving nations, influencing immigration policy and placing strain on their legal, social, and economic systems. This research seeks to determine the primary reasons of illegal immigration and how states parties to Protocol against Migrant Smuggling address this issue. Effective efforts to prevent and combat migrant smuggling need an international comprehensive approach that includes improved borders control, information exchange, international cooperation, legal and safe migration pathways, and countering migrant smuggling networks. All while striking a balance between protecting human rights and ensuring national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article, titled "Seeing Like a Smuggler: Borders from Below," explores the phenomenon of smuggling from a social perspective, challenging the traditional state-centric approach that focuses on smuggling as a crime. The authors aim to understand smuggling in the context of its histories and localities, and from the perspective of those who engage in it out of necessity. The article includes chapters that examine people smuggling and the smuggling of goods in various regions, as well as the material performances and arrangements involved in smuggling. The book offers a critical perspective on borders and bordering processes, highlighting the interconnectedness between political borders and the cultural economies and social fabric of border zones. [Extracted from the article]