Critical Insights
Key findings condensed from the published research of Aleksandar Atanasov, PhD. Every insight links to its full source.
From User to Organizer: The Criminal Career of Two Drug Distributors
Over about ten years, two drug distributors rose from street dealing to running an organized group. Their case shows entry through their own drug use, four stages of growth, a decisive split between the organizer and his right hand, and possession penalties that only strengthened their sense of invulnerability.
Migrant Smuggling Through Bulgaria: Five Factors That Shape the Networks
Bulgaria lies where the Western Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean routes meet. Five factors shape the criminal networks that move migrants through it: the terrain, a local service infrastructure, a foreign network of clients and money, legitimate businesses and officials drawn into the scheme, and the geopolitical use of the routes.
Machine Gunner or Sniper: Countering Homegrown Terrorism and Organized Crime
Those who attack Western societies are mostly their own citizens or long-term residents, and many have a criminal past. Terrorists and organized criminals follow the same psychological models, but the state cannot fight them with the same tools.
Train to Win, Never to Die: Three Principles for High-Risk Interventions
Tactics, shooting and close-combat skills fail without psychological hardiness. Three training principles build it: every exercise ends in success, death is never accepted as an outcome, and planned surprises teach officers to adapt.
Spotting the Predator First: Situational Awareness and Combat Profiling
Criminals do not look for a fight; they look for a sure victory over the most vulnerable target. Situational awareness and combat profiling, built on the OODA loop, help officers and civilians recognize a threat while it is still being prepared and take the initiative.
Misogynistic Extremism in Digital Spaces: A Predictable Five-Phase Modus Operandi
A case study of one perpetrator who systematically harassed over 40 women, all social media influencers aged 18 to 40, shows a recognizable radicalization pathway, a predictable modus operandi and a legal framework that was not built for the digital domain.