ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the expansion of criminal activities in Africa, and the extent to which new dynamics and emerging interfaces have been brought to bear on such activities. This leads to a discussion of how such activities are 'institutionalized' and the underlying and supporting mechanisms that enable its survival. Because such activities are located within states, the chapter examines the state types that emerge. The chapter examines the initiatives undertaken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU). It focuses on West Africa as a whole, but with references to organized crime in Ghana and Nigeria, discussing the links as well as the impact of organized crime on public-sector institutions, structures and processes in West Africa. The chapter examines some of the initiatives that have been undertaken by ECOWAS and the AU in order to address the challenges posed by organized crime.
