Trans-border Crime between Turkey and Greece: Human Smuggling and its Regional Consequences

Claims of increasing involvement of organized crime organizations in people smuggling and trafficking have recently attracted attention and concern at national and international levels. Over the last decade both Turkey and Greece have been exposed to the flow of irregular migrants often being smuggled through the Middle East to the Balkans, and then intending to sneak into western Europe. This article first elaborates the dynamics and mechanisms of human smuggling from Turkey to Greece, evaluates the nature of smuggling between Turkey and Greece on the basis of empirical evidence, and then shifts its attention to the question of how these two countries respond to the challenges of this trans-border crime. In seeking a proper answer to this question, the article tries to relate the smuggling question in the Balkan region to its wider context in the European realm.