State-Embedded Actor Syndrome and Organized Crime Trends in Africa

Abstract

Organized crime is any serious crime committed by an organized criminal group within a state or across international borders for economic gain.  State-embedded actor syndrome exists where state officials commit organized crimes. There is a trend in Africa whereby states with high resilience to organized crime simultaneously record high organized criminality.  While arguing that high resilience should result in low criminality, this paper seeks to ascertain whether the state-embedded actor syndrome is responsible for the high-criminality and high-resilience organized crime trends in Africa.  Accordingly, the question underlying this research is: Is state-embedded actor syndrome responsible for the high-criminality and high-resilience (HC-HR) organized crime trends in Africa? The objectives of the study are to ascertain whether state-embedded actor syndrome is responsible for the HC-HR trends in Africa and recommend ways of reversing or averting the trend.  The paper uses quantitative and qualitative methods as well as a non-experimental design.  Data for the research are collected from secondary sources and manipulated by quadrant analysis. The paper finds that state-embedded actor syndrome negatives state resilience and that is why criminality increases despite high resilience. The paper recommends that African states should avoid holding onto the heavy police approach to combating organized crime, but adopt a comprehensive policy response that will boost state resilience and check organized criminality.