Abstract
African Small Island Developing States (ASIDS), and more specifically Mauritius and Seychelles,
are receiving increased attention on international forums due to the economic advancements that they
are making. Moreover, Mauritius and Seychelles were ranked 1st and 2nd on the 2017 Ibrahim Index
for African Governance (IIAG). However, like all states in the world, these states are not exempt
from the activities associated with the Illicit Global Economy (IGE), also known as Transnational
Organized Crime (TOC). This dissertation aims to gage to what extent Mauritius and Seychelles are
possibly impacted by money laundering, drug trafficking and maritime piracy and whether their
typical Small Island Developing States (SIDS) characteristics could make them more susceptible to
these crimes.
This dissertation employs a dual analytical framework which consists of the features of TOC as
discussed by Balaam and Dillman (2015) as well as the characteristics of SIDS/ (African Small Island
Developing States (ASIDS)) as derived from available literature. In summary, this dissertation covers
the following: Chapter 1 provides the objectives of the study as well as the research questions that
the study aims to answer. Chapter 2 focuses on defining key concepts used throughout the study as
well as on the features of TOC as discussed by Balaam and Dillman (2015), which forms the first
part of the analytical framework. These will focus on globalisation, policies, consumers, states and
corruption [all derived from Balaam and Dillman (2015)]. SIDS are also conceptualised, and their
various unique characteristics are discussed. The most important characteristics are then categorised
according to economics and finance; political; social and geographical characteristics. This
framework is applied to the rest of the study to gage which of the typical SIDS characteristics
Mauritius and Seychelles subscribe to and whether these characteristics could possibly make them
more susceptible to TOC.
Chapter 3 covers the history of TOC under the heading “Globalisation, a double-edged sword”. It
focuses on the history of the three crimes under consideration for this study (money laundering, drug
trafficking and maritime piracy). Ultimately, this chapter seeks to gage the possible impact that
globalisation could possibly have had on the development of TOC through considering TOC from a
historical perspective. The typical SIDS/ASIDS characteristics of Mauritius and Seychelles are
discussed in Chapter 4 of this study. Chapter 5 will investigate to what extent money laundering; drug
trafficking and maritime piracy possibly impacts Mauritius and Seychelles and whether their typical
SIDS/ASIDS characteristics could possibly contribute to them being more susceptible to these
crimes. It will also determine to what extent corruption potentially plays a role in enabling these
crimes.
The steps taken by the Mauritian and Seychellois states and non-state actors to combat these crimes
will be discussed in Chapter 6 under the heading “the problem with supply-side policies” (Balaam
and Dillman, 2016) as well as “the problem with coordination between states” (as stipulated by
Balaam and Dillman) in the context of TOC in Mauritius and Seychelles. Chapter 7 is a conclusion
of the study and will summarise the main findings of this study. This dissertation will gage whether
the typical features of TOC (as defined by Balaam and Dillman, 2015), especially corruption being
present in these states (although at a low level) and due to the typical SIDS/ASIDS characteristics,
criminals are able to practise money laundering and drug trafficking in these states.
M.A.