International Relationas

ARIADNE

Another example of transnational activism involves the ARIADNE Network against human trafficking in Southeastern and Eastern Europe. This has been an ongoing collaborative effort since 2005 among activists spanning twelve countries, and has taken the form of four interrelated joint projects. The fourth joint project focuses in part on raising awareness among vulnerable populations on the connections between trafficking and migration. There is a website dedicated to facilitating information exchange between activists in the region.

These examples highlight instances of what Arquilla calls civil networks. These transnational networks seek to change what they believe are unjust rules, policies, and institutions. They work from the “bottom up” to influence change, recruiting citizens who share their concerns across countries.

As described on their website,

“Ariadne is a European peer-to-peer network of more than 400 funders and philanthropists who support social change and human rights.

Ariadne helps those using private resources for public good achieve more together than they can alone by linking them to other funders and providing practical tools of support. ” You may wonder what these networks can actually do for members. One function is to pool funding to provide tools that individual members could not afford. For instance, Ariadne has collected grants data from members to create a suite of knowledge tools to assist funders and civil society. Civil society just means all of the groups and group interactions in a state that are not controlled by the government.

Uncivil Networks

criminal

terrorism

criminal Networks

Transnational organized crime (TOC) refers to criminal organizations that operate transnationally, across borders for the purpose of obtaining power, monetary and/or commercial gains, wholly or in part by illegal means, while ensuring their survival through corruption and/or violence. TOCs have multiple structure; they vary from clans, networks, and cells. One of the main problems is that TOCs commit a variety of crimes and cannot be pigeon-holed.

TOCs have taken advantage of technological innovation and increased globalization during the last three decades. Our increasing world with many areas of transversal spaces has allowed sites for TOCs to increase their illicit enterprises.

Criminal networks are not only expanding their operations, but they are also diversifying their activities, creating transnational threats that are more complex, volatile, and destabilizing. These networks threaten U.S. interests through alliances with corrupt elements of national governments. They manipulate corrupt officials to further their criminal activities and strengthen their ability to continually function.

Terrorist Networks

It’s important to remember that not only has terrorism been around throughout history but that it has crossed ethnic and religious lines. Many current students are not aware of what students focused on a generation ago, the IRA. The Catholics of Northern Island had been an oppressed people for hundreds of years. The region, a province of the United Kingdom, did not gain its independence from Britain with the rest of Ireland in 1921. As a result of a long and complicate political and religious struggle, social cleavages turned violent and what was known as ‘the troubles’ began. One of the main groups fighting for the British to withdraw from Northern Ireland was the Irish Republican Army (IRA). They were also in conflict with protestant "paramilitaries" loyal to the United Kingdom. Between 1966 and 1999, more than 3,600 people were killed and nearly 36,000 injured. This violence was by no means one sided. For instance, on January 30th, 1972 British paratroopers fired on unarmed protestors, killing fourteen and injuring another thirteen. This incident is known as Bloody Sunday or the Bogside Massacre.

So how do these organizations get their funding? Well, the funding mechanisms for terrorists were not as well-developed in the 20th century. Nonetheless, we see the beginnings of current funding patterns. One way the IRA obtained funds was through Irish Americans. For instance, those growing up in the Boston area in the 70’s and 80’s remember that in Boston area taverns it was not unusual for a hat to be passed around to collect donations for ‘the cause’ or ‘the widows and orphans’.

Another way that the IRA collected money was through criminal activities and ties with other criminal groups just as we see with terrorists today. With this money, the IRA procured weapons from international arms dealers and foreign countries such as Libya.