This course explores the clandestine "underside" of the global economy and state efforts to police it. The readings are organized around a broad range of unauthorized transnational flows, including drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. Drawing from a variety of analytical perspectives and disciplinary approaches, we will critically examine how these illicit activities are structured and operate, how they intersect with state institutions and practices, how they related to the legal economy, and how they shape (and are shaped by) domestic and international politics. The approach is broadly comparative across time, place, and illicit market activity.

⬇️  Download the Reading List (pdf)