La asistencia de INTERPOL a las policías nacionales durante la pandemia (COVID-19): coordinación para la atención de amenazas emergentes.

The aim of this article is to analyze, from the perspective of organizational theory, the coordination between the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and national police institutions to stop emerging security threats. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated changes in the way organized crime operates. Particularly, the pandemic has increased the illegal sale of falsified medical products and there has been an increase in frauds and financial scams to hospitals and health authorities, as well as diverse modalities of cybercrime. Multilateral efforts by INTERPOL and national authorities to prevent these crimes have had relative success in terms of coordination. Given this situation, the research question is: What characteristics of the INTERPOL's organizational design has made the coordination with national police institutions more efficient? In this case study it is argued that, in a certain way, this is due to the following factors: a) the nature and structure of this inter-governmental organization; b) the autonomy and institutional strength that INTERPOL has built since its foundation; c) the ample organizational experience it has obtained through its constant technical assistance to governments; and d) civil and police bureaucracy dealing with crises as part of their routine tasks. Findings indicate that INTERPOL is an organization with autonomy, agency and legitimacy. Therefore, it can be considered a strategic actor (Barnett y Coleman, 2005), a self-directed actor (Zamudio, 2019), or a complete organization (Brunsson, 2017). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]