Global Smuggling Research Trends: A Bibliometric Analysis of an Untold Story

Smuggling research has seen evolving trends in recent years. Traditionally focused on understanding the illicit trade of goods like drugs, firearms, and wildlife, contemporary smuggling research has expanded its scope to encompass a broader array of topics. Researchers are increasingly exploring the interconnectedness of smuggling networks, their adaptation to technology, and their impact on global security and economies. Additionally, there is a growing emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches, combining insights from criminology, economics, and technology to better analyze and combat smuggling activities. The analysis focuses on the trend of publication across the years, countries, authors, institutions, sources, and keyword occurrence for the smuggling research interest areas. Overall, contemporary smuggling research is characterized by its interdisciplinary nature and its focus on adapting to the evolving methods and motivations of smugglers in the modern world. Our result indicates that the new research area explored is migrant trafficking or smuggling.