The Crime-Terror Nexus: Investigating the overlap between criminal and extremist practices, narratives and networks in Tripoli, Lebanon THE RELEVANCE OF OUR RESEARCH

Tripoli, Lebanon's second city, has over the past eight years witnessed a significant increase in levels of violence. This mainly stems from the progressive merger of criminal and terrorist milieux, practices and narratives and their growing embeddedness in the marginalized districts of Qobbe, Bab al-Tebbaneh and Mankoubin. Indeed, there is a 'neighbourhood effect' at work: preliminary data we collected from the Lebanese Interior Ministry shows that out of 152 Tripolitans arrested for terrorism-related charges in 2016 and 2017 over two-thirds hailed from one of these three districts, and that the overwhelming majority were, or had been, involved in criminal activities. 

This phenomenon of Islamo-gangsterism is far from unique to Tripoli - scholars and security practitioners have in fact demonstrated that between a quarter and a half of all convicted jihadis in Europe have a criminal background and hail from the marginalized neighbourhoods of large cities. The prevalence and overlap of criminal and terrorist networks in Manchester's Moss Side or Brussels' Molenbeek are a case in point of how Islamo-gangsterism can become rooted in certain sociopolitical, spatial and historical contexts. There is an urgent need to study why and how TNOC becomes rooted in deprived urban communities and increasingly intersects with terrorism, and we are using Tripoli as an example of how to address this. 

THE RESEARCH QUESTION

What are the underlying factors and processes that explain how spaces such as Tripoli's Qobbe, Bab al-Tebbaneh and Mankoubin as well as, more generally, the deprived neighbourhoods of large cities (1) become the privileged milieus of TNOC and (2) turn into safe territories for crime-terror interaction?

OUR RESEARCH METHODS

Answering this question demands data on the sociopolitical, spatial and historical dimensions of TNOC's genesis, embeddedness and interaction with extremist networks in Tripolitan neighbourhoods. We will collect this by using a rigorous mixed methods research design that involves undertaking archival research, data collection, a survey of residents and qualitative interviews. 

(1) Archival research: we will investigate the history of crime-terror interaction in Tripoli by retracing the rise and fall of two revolutionary groups which epitomized early forms of this phenomenon - the Organization of Anger and the Movement of the Wanted - by exploring the archives of Lebanese and Tripolitan newspapers.

(2) Data collection: we will retrieve and analyse data on terrorist and criminal convicts, as well as on Tripoli's deprived districts, from the Lebanese Interior Ministry.

(3) Survey of residents: we will explore the spatial and sociopolitical dimension of crime-terror interaction by conducting a survey of 150 residents in each of the three aforementioned districts in order to ascertain the nature and extent of local perceptions of criminal and extremist milieux, practices and narratives. 

(4) Qualitative interviews: we will interview twenty well-placed observers of the crime-terror nexus in Tripoli in order to obtain additional insights and shed light on this phenomenon.

Our project uses an interpretative lens that draws upon urban sociology, contentious politics and cultural anthropology to grasp how neighbourhood dynamics, a history of dissent as well as the prevalence of narratives emphasizing humiliation and rebellion, can intersect with criminal and extremist practices.

ENGAGEMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS

Our project relies on sustained engagement with non-academic stakeholders at each stage of the process in order to achieve two goals: (1) to allow us to continuously reflect on whether and how findings derived from Tripoli can be applicable elsewhere (members of advisory board: Ch Supt John Denley and Antonio Sampaio) and; (2) to enhance the dissemination and outreach of our output (project partners: March, Berghof Foundation and Carnegie MEC). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.