Page 25 - An Illusion of Complicity: Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa

12 An Illusion of Complicity

As such, the narrative arguably provides a softer cloak for engagement by Western agencies
concerned with countering the underlying drivers of violent extremism.38 It does so, similarly,
for private security contractors whose global presence has burgeoned with the post-9/11
outsourcing of security.39 The ivory–terrorism narrative is also an easier call to arms against the
illegal ivory trade than ‘corruption in Africa’, which lacks the same emotional resonance.40 As
the rest of this report will argue, this is unlikely to be a beneficial development.

Hehir, ‘The Myth of the Failed State and the War on Terror: A Challenge to the Conventional
Wisdom’, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding (Vol. 1, No. 3, 2007), pp. 307–32.
38. Authors’ interview with Western diplomat 1, 26 January 2015; authors’ correspondence with
Western diplomat 6, 17 March 2015.
39. For the neoliberalisation of security actors, see Sean McFate, The Modern Mercenary: Private
Armies and What They Mean for World Order (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015); Allison
Stanger, ‘How Private Military Contractors Undermine World Order’, Foreign Affairs (Vol. 94, No. 4,
July/August 2015). For examples of those private security companies and non-profit organisations
now engaged in supporting anti-poaching operations, see Maisha Consulting (http://maisha-
consulting.com/environmental-security/) and VETPAW (http://vetpaw.org/).
40. Authors’ phone interview with senior conservation scientist, 3 February 2015; authors’ discussion
with the chief executive of a UK conservation charity, 31 March 2015.