Shutterstock/JossK Lead researcher: Mohanad Hage Ali
Partner: Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Duration: December 2025 – December 2026
Countries: Lebanon
The project will examine how illicit actors respond to shifting geopolitical conditions, exploit weak states, and embed themselves in transnational systems. Its findings will support policy responses at national, regional and international levels. This work will build on prior XCEPT research on regional illicit economies by looking at how cross-border illicit flows in the Levant are sustained through overlapping social and political networks, and how these networks fit within the region’s political economy and transnational conflict systems.
For more information regarding this research, contact [email protected]