Dr Alexander Chance

Dr Alexander Chance specialises in strategic approaches to transnational organised crime and corruption, particularly in post-conflict and peacebuilding settings. He has over 20 years’ international experience working on these issues at both practitioner and policy levels within government and civil society.

Alexander is currently Head of Policy and Research at Transparency International (TI) Ireland, where he leads programmes on anti-bribery and corruption and anti-money laundering. In addition to his TI role, he is a Senior Research Fellow at the Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy – Ireland’s national security research institute – where he has conducted first-of-its-kind research on serious and organised crime between the UK and Ireland.

In his early career, Alexander consulted for the UN in Geneva before coordinating sensitive track II mediation processes between political and religious leaders in Israel/Palestine and Nigeria. He then entered law enforcement, serving in the National Crime Agency and its precursor agencies in operational, strategy and management positions focussed on tackling serious organised crime. Amongst his various roles, he spent five years running counter-narcotics operations in South America, led specialist anti-corruption and cyber-crime teams, and was Staff Officer to the Director General.

Alexander completed his PhD at Trinity College, the University of Dublin, where his research examined the relationship between organised crime, governance, and liberal peacebuilding in post-war Mozambique. He also holds an MPhil (with Distinction) in International Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and a BA in Law and Politics from Durham University. He is an accredited, practising mediator and speaks Portuguese.

Ireland’s place in the global cocaine trade: Implications for public security – Strategic Insights (The Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy, 11 May 2023)

Exploring Serious and Organised Crime across Ireland and the UK: Towards a Shared Understanding of a Shared Threat – The Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy, March 2022

Winning the peace, losing the state? Organised crime, governance and liberal peacebuilding in post-war Mozambique – Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, December 2021

Safe Haven? Targeting the proceeds of foreign corruption in Ireland – Transparency International Ireland, February 2021

Corruption, organised crime and conflict in Mozambique: Exploring the role of international donors – Strategic Insights (The Azure Forum for Contemporary Security Strategy, 17 February 2021)

A criminalised peace? The impact of organised crime and corruption on peacebuilding in Kosovo – Achieving Sustainable Development (FutureLearn, 20 April 2017)