A review of illicit drug and terrorism financing literature: Establishing a future socioeconomic research agenda

Illicit drugs and terrorism are responsible for thousands of deaths each year. To better combat the criminal organisations involved, an improved understanding of their financial operations is necessary. Analysing how these drug and terrorism financing organisations reach a payment agreement and mitigate the associated shortcomings of bounded rationality requires using socioeconomic strategies: market, bureaucracy and trust. This research evaluates the current body of literature on the financing of drugs and terrorism by applying a scoping review. The review assesses how these socioeconomic strategies are studied and what the gaps in the research in this field are. Based on this assessment, a socioeconomic-based research agenda on the financing of drugs and terrorism is established. The scoping review indicates that the socioeconomic strategies not only play a role in coming to an agreement on a deal but also are an integral part of the structures of the criminal organisations. These findings can help researchers and government officials to better understand these illicit organisations. Research on socioeconomic strategies could be improved. The research on terrorism financing often lacks empirical methods. Additionally, bureaucracy is an under-researched strategy in both drug and terrorism financing. Unlike the consensus in the socioeconomic field, the strategies of market, bureaucracy, and trust are studied separately or in pairs, rather than in combination of all three.