https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/R_TCCThe aim of this course is to familiarize students with different forms of transnational organized crime that occur in the context of conflict and to understand and explain their occurrence and relation to conflict. At the end of the course the student: Has knowledge of and insight into:The characteristics and definitions of different types of transnational organized crime occurring in (post-)conflict situations;definitional debates around transnational organized crime phenomena;responses to transnational organized crime and the relevant legal actors in that context.Is capable of:applying theoretical concepts to conflict situations in order to analyse the occurrence of transnational organized crime.Shows evidence of:thinking critically about policy responses in this area.This course focuses on the interrelation between conflict and transnational organized crime. How do wars or uprisings create, facilitate, and contribute to the proliferation of transnational organized crime? What are the links between organized crime and the occurrence, intensity, and duration of conflict? And how should organized crime be addressed post-conflict or in the transformation of societies towards peace? The course consists of a combination of lectures and tutorials. The course revolves around guest lectures, focusing on specific forms of transnational organized crime and its connection to armed conflict or terrorism, provided by renowned experts on these transnational organized crime forms, working in practice or in academia.The course consists of a combination of lectures (every week) and workshops (every other week). Apart from an introductory and closing lecture, the guest lectures zoom in on a specific type of transnational organized crime, firstly by discussing definitions of, and responses to, that type of crime; and secondly by looking into examples of occurrences of the type of transnational crime in conflicts. The workshops zoom in on interventions and policy responses in specific cases.The course is evaluated with written assignments in preparation for the tutorials, a final written assignment in the form of a research paper, and a group assignment (a policy brief and presentation).The course uses a collection of academic articles and book chapters on transnational crime in conflict situations. These are available online via the VU library.Apart from students in criminology, the course is also open to a limited number of students from other universities/faculties, exchange students, contractor students (students who pay for one course). Courses from a master at the faculty can only be taken as a secondary course if you have a diploma that gives access to the relevant master/specialization and if you are enrolled in a master.Only a limited amout of students (40) may participate in the course.