Exploring Connections: Corruption, Terrorism and Terrorist Financing

In recent years, the international community has supplemented its longstanding focus on terrorism and terrorist financing with considerations of ways in which these threats intersect with other forms of illicit activity, notably organised crime.

A less explored perspective is the manner in which corruption – for example, corrupt border security guards or the illegal exploitation of natural resources – can facilitate both terrorism and terrorist financing. This paper sets out to remedy this dearth by looking at terrorism and terrorist financing, respectively.

This paper divides its analysis across two primary areas: considering the ways in which corruption can enable terrorism, and how corruption can also facilitate terrorist financing. In the former, the connection between terrorism and corruption is particularly evident in two fields: border corruption and defence sector corruption.

Through a literature review and the use of case studies, this paper highlights each of these areas in turn. It concludes with recommendations for policymakers to consider in order to advance efforts to not only raise awareness of but also address the issues related to the intersection of corruption, terrorism and terrorist financing.