Degterev D.A., Kovaleva D.V. The role of Albania and Albanian organized crime in drug transit along the Balkan route: network analysis

Abstract: The object of this research is the participation of the Albanian organized crime in opiate transit by the so-called Balkan route (Afghanistan - Western Europe). The position of Albania in transit network and its role in drug trafficking is being analyzed. The authors thoroughly explore such topics as the structure and principles of the Albanian Mafia, mechanisms of decentralization and conspiracy of organized crime, problem of the analysis of its activity at national level, as well as structure and characteristics of the Balkan route of drug shipments to Europe. In the first part of this research the authors assume that Albania is one of the main drug distributers in Europe.The research is based on the method of network analysis, involving the construction of a network graph and identify the most influential actors by evaluating the betweenness centrality and closeness centrality expressing various measures to control a particular node on the network. Network analysis has been successfully applied to study the logic of attitudes and behavior in many informal or criminal organizations, including terrorist networks.The main conclusion of the study is the position of Albania as a network broker which has a direct access  or an access through its Balkan neigbors to the two out of four largest European markets. The hypothesis on its status as of the country responsible for drug distribution in Europe has not been confirmed. The mechanisms of interaction with the neighboring countries of Albania and their access to European markets are analyzed. The special contribution of the authors is a research of organizational structure of the Albanian mafia and Balkan route through the prism of network analysis. The novelty of the research consists in the implementation of the network method towards cooperation of the cpuntries with regards to drugs distribution in Europe.

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