Cathy Haenlein, Dr Joana de Deus Pereira, Dr Liam O'Shea and Michael Jones, 'Crime, Terror and Insecurity in Mozambique', RUSI Whitehall Report, 16 June 2025

The link between crime and terrorism remains a priority for the global security community. Yet a significant proportion of relevant research is top-down, privileging knowledge and responses at national and regional level. Local-level expertise and experience remains underrepresented, often to the detriment of effective responses. This Whitehall Report provides draws on research across Angoche, Maputo, Montepuez, Nacala and Pemba to provide a comprehensive analysis of Mozambique's complex and layered security landscape, giving voice to bottom-up perspectives. It does so by analysing local-level inputs and lived experience to provide a more holistic appraisal of the security landscape and support more effective interventions.

Cathy Haenlein, Dan Marks and Belinda Schäpe, 'The UK's Role in Advancing Responsible Transition Minerals Supply Chains', RUSI Occasional Paper, 29 October 2024

The UK government has highlighted the importance of ‘levelling the playing field’ for responsible companies to mitigate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks affecting the mining and processing of minerals needed for the energy transition. Yet there is little research into the levers available to the UK to realise this ambition. This paper examines the UK’s role as a financial and trading hub for the mining industry, and a centre of sustainability and international development expertise, assessing how far these have been, and could be, leveraged to improve standards.

Cathy Haenlein, 'Serious and Organised Crime Conference 2023: Conference Report', RUSI Conference Report, 8 July 2023

RUSI’s inaugural Serious and Organised Crime Conference brought together law enforcement officers, policymakers, academics and industry experts to determine how key stakeholders can collaborate to enhance the response to organised crime. The main aim was to support the National Crime Agency and system partners to consolidate a set of relationships with external researchers on behalf of the wider system. Constructive challenge to existing assumptions was encouraged, with the conference designed to facilitate open and honest exchange. This report presents the findings across 6 panel sessions, 3 high-level 'In Conversation with' sessions, 3 keynotes and 3 interactive breakout sessions.

Anne-Marie Weeden, Mark Williams, Elijah Glantz and Cathy Haenlein, 'Using Closed Case Reviews in Financial Investigations of the Illegal Wildlife Trade', RUSI Whitehall Report, December 2023

RUSI’s Organised Crime and Policing team, working with the government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), TRAFFIC and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), have pioneered a new technique in the environmental crime domain to support capacity building around following the money: the use of multi-agency reviews of closed IWT cases – the Closed Case Method. This Whitehall Report presents a best practice guide for the use of closed case reviews to support financial investigation in IWT cases. This approach involves the retroactive analysis of previous IWT cases to identify fresh opportunities to gather and act on financial intelligence.

Cathy Haenlein, Lauren Young and Grace Evans, 'Future Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Trends in a Warming World: A Global Horizon Scan', RUSI Occasional Paper, March 2023

Comprising everything from small-scale, near-shore activity to industrial, long-distance operations, the current IUU fishing threat has the potential to evolve significantly in a warming world. This global horizon scan explore the impacts of climate change on IUU fishing over the next 10 years and beyond.  The scan gathered globally available information by eliciting submissions from contributors worldwide, with a group of expert assessors collating and prioritising trends based on their ‘novelty’, ‘plausibility’ and ‘potential impact’.

Cathy Haenlein with Sasha Erskine, Elijah Glantz and Tom Keatinge, 'Briefing Note: Targeted Sanctions and Organised Crime: Impact and Lessons for Future Use', SOC ACE, May 2022

Sanctions are increasingly used to tackle a range of specific issues, including human rights abuse, corruption and malicious cyber activity. As sanctions use has broadened, the question of their application to organised criminal activity is increasingly raised. This paper analyses organised crime-related sanctions data and examines evidence on the implementation and impact of these sanctions. This briefing paper summarises findings from the longer RUSI Occasional Paper by the authors - the first effort to target this knowledge gap by reviewing existing evidence on the use and impact of sanctions to disrupt organised criminal activity, with a focus on two cases: Colombia and Libya.

Cathy Haenlein with Sasha Erskine, Elijah Glantz and Tom Keatinge, 'Targeted Sanctions and Organised Crime: Impact and Lessons for Future Use', RUSI Occasional Paper, March 2022

Sanctions are increasingly used to tackle a range of specific issues, including human rights abuse, corruption and malicious cyber activity. As sanctions use has broadened, the question of their application to organised criminal activity is increasingly raised. This paper analyses organised crime-related sanctions data and examines evidence on the implementation and impact of these sanctions. This paper represents the first effort to target this knowledge gap, reviewing existing evidence on the use of sanctions to disrupt organised criminal activity. It focuses on two case studies, Colombia and Libya, in differing regions and with different exposure to organised crime-focused sanctions.

Cathy Haenlein and Alexandria Reid, 'Illegal Wildlife Trade and Illicit Finance in the UK', RUSI Whitehall Report 1-22, January 2022

Commissioned by the Home Office, this is the first independent study of the UK’s exposure and response to illicit finance linked to illegal wildlife trade (IWT). The UK is a leading advocate of ‘follow the money’ approaches to IWT on the global stage. Yet little focus has been placed on the UK’s domestic record. Based on an open-source literature review, analysis of law enforcement data, ‘call for evidence’ and 40 semi-structured interviews, the report assesses the UK’s record in terms of the Financial Action Task Force’s 2020 recommendation that states assess their exposure to IWT-linked illicit finance; ensure legal powers exist to bring financial charges; and run financial investigations in IWT cases.

Cathy Haenlein and Vincent Opyene, 'Illegal Wildlife Trade in Uganda: Tracking Progress on 'Following the Money', December 2021

​Based on 35 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, a rigorous review of open-source literature and analysis of confidential information, this paper assesses the relationship between illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and illicit finance in Uganda and considers how effectively the country is responding to these threats. In doing so, the paper represents the most in-depth independent study of a single jurisdiction's experience of and response to the finances of IWT to date.

Cathy Haenlein and Peter Albrecht, 'Dissolving the Internal-External Divide: Sierra Leone’s Path In and Out of Peacekeeping', Conflict, Security & Development,  26 April 2021

This article explores Sierra Leone’s trajectory from host of the world’s largest peace-support operation to post-conflict provider of peacekeepers elsewhere. Building on the authors’ previous research, it aims to nuance contemporary theoretical discussions of why states contribute peacekeepers, arguing that these frameworks are unable to explain such developments in the Sierra Leonean case. A key reason is that these frameworks principally focus on national-level decision-making, whereas in Sierra Leone international partners played a central role in driving the process forward. These factors make Sierra Leone an important case to interrogate, against the backdrop of existing theoretical frameworks.

Cathy Haenlein, David Pérez Esparza and Florian J Hetzel, 'Gun Trafficking and Violence: From the Global Network to the Local Security Challenge - Final Remarks', in David Pérez Esparza et al., Gun Trafficking and Violence: From the Global Network to the Local Security Challenge (Palgrave, 2021).​

This edited book addresses the issues of gun trafficking and gun violence across different regions of the world, including the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It seeks to identify global key trends on gun trafficking and related violence and discuss different enforcement measures.This concluding chapter reflects on the insights provided in previous chapters, offering final remarks on challenges and opportunities to improve the response to gun trafficking, lessons learned and policy recommendations.

Nafeesa Esmail, Cathy Haenlein et al. 'Emerging Illegal Wildlife Trade Issues: A Global Horizon Scan', Conservation Letters, 2020

Illegal wildlife trade is gaining prominence as a threat to biodiversity, but addressing it remains challenging. To help inform proactive policy responses in the face of uncertainty, in 2018 the authors conducted a horizon scan of significant emerging issues. The authors built upon existing iterative horizon scanning methods, using an open and global participatory approach to evaluate and rank issues from a diverse range of sources.

Cathy Haenlein, Charlie de Rivaz, Alexandria Reid and Veerle Nouwens, 'Turning the Tide? Learning from Responses to Large-Scale Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing in Five Countries', RUSI Whitehall Report, November 2019 

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing poses not only a systemic threat to the marine environment, but also a sustained threat to national and regional security. While many states have enacted key measures to address IUU fishing, these have not collectively led to an adequate global response. This lack of progress has rarely been the subject of detailed analysis. This report seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of obstacles to, and opportunities for, more effective action. It does so by examining experience in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Tanzania and South Africa.

Cathy Haenlein, Alexander Babuta and Alexandria Reid, ‘E-Commerce, Delivery Services and the Illicit Tobacco Trade’, RUSI Occasional Paper, October 2018 

This Occasional Paper examines the exploitation of the internet and delivery services in relation to illicit trade in tobacco products in Europe. The findings are based on primary research in the form of semi-structured interviews with subject matter experts from law enforcement agencies, government, the private sector, NGOs and international organisations in the UK, France and Germany from May to July 2018. The research shows that the growth of e-commerce, postal and parcel delivery services has had a significant impact on the trade in illicit tobacco in many of the locations under consideration.

Cathy Haenlein and Aurora Ganz, ‘On Tap Europe: Organised Crime and Illicit Trade in Italy, Country Report’, RUSI Occasional Paper, December 2017 

This is the fifth and last in a series of country-level papers on the role of organised crime in the illicit trade in tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceuticals across Europe, focusing on Italy as a case study. Italy plays various roles in facilitating illicit trade, acting as a source, transit and destination country for different products. In responding to this situation, Italian law enforcement does not view illicit trade in isolation. Instead, strategically and operationally, it is accepted as an integral part of wider organised criminal portfolios, as well as broader categories of economic crime.

Cathy Haenlein and Jonathan Eyal, ‘On Tap Europe: Organised Crime and Illicit Trade in Romania, Country Report’, RUSI Occasional Paper, October 2017 

This is the fourth in a series of country-level papers on the role of organised crime in the illicit trade in tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceuticals across Europe, focusing on Romania as a case study. Romania plays numerous roles in illicit trade, acting as a source, transit and destination country for different products. The criminal networks behind illicit trade in Romania are sophisticated, often internationally connected, and capable of adapting to exploit opportunities to maximise profits and avoid detection. This paper identifies five core drivers that underpin illicit trade across the country.

Cathy Haenlein and Tom Keatinge, ‘Follow the Money: The Use of Financial Investigation in Countering Wildlife Trafficking’, RUSI Occasional Paper, September 2017

Worldwide, for every animal taken illegally from the wild, money changes hands. It does so behind pet storefronts, on online marketplaces, at ranger stations and often under the eyes of corrupt officials. Wildlife crime is not simply a crime against wildlife: it is organised crime conducted on a transnational scale for profit. This paper argues that there is an urgent need for those charged with disrupting wildlife crime to add a financial dimension to their approach. It refers primarily to East Africa, as the final output of a two-year project on wildlife-linked illicit financial flows in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Cathy Haenlein, ‘Below the Surface: How Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Threatens Our Security’, RUSI Occasional Paper, August 2017
​
Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is conventionally treated by governments as the result of technical regulatory infringements. As such, it is often deemed a matter for industry regulators and dismissed as a trivial issue insofar as it relates to national security. This diagnosis is flawed. This paper argues that IUU fishing on a systematic scale, occurring across multiple jurisdictions, must be treated as transnational organised crime. Such IUU fishing endangers food security, threatens livelihoods, undermines rule of law, deprives states of revenue, and intersects with other forms of organised crime.

Cathy Haenlein and M L R Smith (eds), 'Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking and Security in Africa: Myths and Realities', RUSI Whitehall Paper (Abingdon: Routledge, December 2016)

A worldwide surge in poaching and wildlife trafficking is threatening to decimate endangered species. This crisis also threatens the security of humans in ways until recently ignored by decision-makers slow  to treat what is typically seen as a ‘conservation issue’ as serious crime. Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking and Security in Africa critically analyses the dominant narratives on poaching and wildlife trafficking as threats to human security, as drivers of conflict, as funders of terrorism and as revenue streams for organised crime. In doing so, it seeks to sort myth from reality, clarifying how poaching and wildlife trafficking, as much cited security threats, can most accurately be conceived. 

Cathy Haenlein and Stephane Crayne, ‘Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking and Conflict’, in Cathy Haenlein and M L R Smith (eds), 'Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking and Security in Africa: Myths and Realities', RUSI Whitehall Paper, (Abingdon: Routledge, December 2016)

One of the core narratives around poaching, wildlife trafficking and security focuses on the threat to governments from wildlife-funded civil conflict. Indeed, although not all instances of armed conflict in Africa occur where wildlife is abundant, a range of examples shows what happens when they do. These range from the dwindling cheetah populations of the strife-torn Horn of Africa, to the gorilla victims of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s civil wars.

Cathy Haenlein, Tom Maguire and Keith Somerville, ‘Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking and Terrorism’, in Cathy Haenlein and M L R Smith (eds), 'Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking and Security in Africa: Myths and Realities', RUSI Whitehall Paper, (Abingdon: Routledge, December 2016)

Deftly tapping into two hot-button issues, the image of terrorists decimating iconic land mammals elicits strong reactions. Described by US film director Kathryn Bigelow as ‘the diabolical intersection of two problems … of great concern – species extinction and global terrorism’, a poaching–terrorism link whips up human sentiment wherever the possibility is raised. This chapter examines the evidence underpinning claims of widespread participation by terrorist groups in the illegal ivory trade in Africa.

Cathy Haenlein and Peter Albrecht, ‘Fragmented Peacekeeping: The African Union in Somalia’, RUSI Journal (Vol. 161, No. 1, March 2016)

From unclear beginnings, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has grown, over almost ten years, into the regional organisation’s largest peace-support operation. Bolstered by a multilayered mission architecture through which donors provide financial, logistical and technical support, it has achieved notably gains against the jihadi Islamist group Al-Shabaab. The apparent viability of these partnerships has seen AMISOM hailed as a successful model for regional and international collaboration. This article examines a less-studied dimension of this model, namely the structural fragmentation that has come to define the mission.

Cathy Haenlein and Tom Maguire, ‘An Illusion of Complicity: Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa’, RUSI Occasional Paper, September 2015

A number of myths and misperceptions have grown alongside the illegal ivory trade – none more troubling than the alleged participation of terrorist groups. In recent years, the terror group Al-Shabaab is said to have earned up to 40% of its running costs from illegal ivory: a powerful narrative, espoused by some politicians and practitioners. But it is largely wrong: evidence for Al-Shabaab involvement remains highly limited. This report argues that the illusion of a terrorism–ivory trade nexus distracts policy-makers from effectively managing resources to tackle both terrorist financing and the illegal ivory trade.

Cathy Haenlein and Ashlee Godwin, ‘Containing Ebola: A Test for Post-Conflict Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone’, Stability: International Journal of Security & Development (Vol. 4, No. 1, July 2015)

Ebola has provided the greatest test to date of the Sierra Leonean security sector – and, in turn, of the UK-led reforms of the past ten-to-fifteen years. The performance of the country's security forces at the height of the crisis suggests that there are sound structures in place; however, Ebola has shown that Sierra Leone's national security architecture lacks maturity in responding to such a scenario. Drawing on interviews with advisers on the ground, this article explores the security sector's response to the Ebola crisis so far. In doing so, it highlights a number of lessons to have emerged from the crisis, exploring what these reveal about the nature of the reforms implemented to date.

Cathy Haenlein and Peter Albrecht, ‘Sierra Leone’s Post-Conflict Peacekeepers: Sudan, Somalia and Ebola’, RUSI Journal (Vol. 160, No. 1, February 2015)

An ever-growing demand for troops to serve in ever-more complex environments has led to enhanced interest in the incentives and constraints facing newcomers to peacekeeping. Increasingly, these include post-conflict states from the global South. This article examines the recent record of Sierra Leone and the factors affecting the country's patterns of contribution to peace-support operations in Sudan and Somalia. In doing so, the article stresses the need for a full understanding of the specific experiences of conflict and recovery – and the relevance of national identity, financial capacity and domestic crises – in the calculations of states emerging from civil war.

Cathy Haenlein, ‘Richard Mosse’s The Enclave: Mediating Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’, RUSI Journal (Vol. 159, No. 1, 2014)

Entering the darkened gallery of the Fondaco Marcello in Venice, the paradox is overwhelming. In an outburst of visual irony, the human tragedy of the long-running instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is rendered in false, vibrant shades of colour. Heavily armed rebels, in uniforms a sickly shade of purple, survey the fluorescent jungle astride a main thoroughfare. The bodies of the fallen punctuate the undergrowth, vacant eyes reflecting its crimson glow. This effect – achieved using Aerochrome, a discontinued infrared technology designed by Kodak and the US military in the 1940s – is powerful, yet unnerving. Viewers encounter conflict in – literally – a whole new light.

Cathy Haenlein and Ashlee Godwin, ‘Security-Sector Reform in Sierra Leone: The UK Assistance Mission in Transition’, RUSI Journal (Vol. 158, No. 6, December 2013)

In March 2013, the British-led military assistance and training mission in Sierra Leone drew to a close, after more than a decade at the centre of efforts to reform the country's armed forces following its protracted civil war. The transition of the mission to the smaller but more broadly focused International Security Advisory Team has raised questions around both the sustainability of the reforms implemented to date and the prospects for success as attention turns to the wider civilian security sector. On the basis of interviews with those directly involved, this article examines both the nature and timing of the transition, and the challenges facing the new mission.