ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that popular claims of loss of state control are overly alarmist and misleading and suffer from historical amnesia. It reviews the dimensions of illicit globalization, and then evaluates standard claims regarding the magnitude of illicit global flows. The chapter illustrates common myths and misconceptions about illicit globalization and emphasizes the ways in which states shape and even exploit the illicit global economy. It examines the contemporary and historical relationship between states and illicit non-state transnational actors, and the role of new technologies and violence in shaping this relationship. The chapter focuses on to the multiple ways in which states promote or otherwise benefit from illicit transnational activities. It suggests that the standard story about illicit globalization is not only overblown but can have counterproductive policy consequences, and call for more scholarly attention to overcome the common tendency by international relations scholars to either overlook or overstate illicit globalization.
