Mapping the networks that shape the world’s economy, security, and governance
The Corruption, Networks, and Transnational Crime Research Center (CONTRA) is dedicated to understanding corruption, transnational crime, illicit economies, and the networks and systems of power that sustain them. Through interdisciplinary research, advanced data analytics, and global partnerships, we map and examine covert networks that shape governance, security, and public life.
Our Research
The Center’s research focuses on two core research areas:
Corruption and Influence
including elite power, offshoring, and shadow influence networks.
Transnational Crime, Illicit Trade, and Trafficking
including drug markets and cartel dynamics; undocumented immigration, human smuggling networks, migration industries, and border governance; and the illicit organ trade.
The Center develops and applies advanced methods to map illicit systems.
