Nevertheless, it has been reasonably argued that most of the origins of transnational crime are not new; they are, in fact, quite similar to factors that drive crime in general. Desperate socioeconomic conditions, which stimulate migration and its antecedent trafficking in persons; the desire for illegal goods and services, which moves crime into the transnational realm when the suppliers are in one country and the consumers are in another; and the universal greed for money and power, have always been hinted behind crimes. Also, money, drugs, arms and commodities have always been smuggled across borders and oceans as criminals circumvented laws to improve their illicit activity. Modern transnational crime, however, is a recent phenomenon and is far deadlier, expansive and difficult to infiltrate. According to U.S. Department of State, “Transnational organized crime has been likened to a cancer, spreading across the world. It can undermine democracy, disrupt free markets, drain national assets, and inhibit the development of stable societies. In doing so, national and international criminal groups threaten the security of all nations.”
Similarly, R. James Woolsey, Former Director of CIA argues that “While organized crime is not a new phenomenon today, some governments find their authority besieged at home and their foreign policy interests imperilled abroad. Drug trafficking, links between drug traffickers and terrorists, smuggling of illegal aliens, massive financial and bank fraud, arms smuggling, potential involvement in the theft and sale of nuclear material, political intimidation, and corruption all constitute a poisonous brew--a mixture potentially as deadly as what we faced during the cold war.” Despite the fact, however, that such crimes are becoming more numerous with advances in technology, immigration patterns, communications, and the world economy, mainly due to their concealed nature, is extremely hard to measure them.
Nevertheless, the end of the 20th century marked by this new phenomenon; the simultaneous globalization of crime, terror, and corruption, an “unholy trinity” that manifests itself all over the world. It can be found in the poorest countries of Latin America and Africa, but also in the heart of prosperous Europe. Facilitated by corruption, crime and terror groups operate together from the Latin America to the regional conflicts of West Africa and the former Soviet Union to the prisons of Western Europe. Such a phenomenon, therefore, has been realistically argued that it has been affected by three related factors. First is the globalisation of the economy, which brings citizens and corporations into increasing contact with foreign entities and the end of the Cold war, which contributed to this economic integration and the growth of opportunities for illicit transactions across borders. Second is the rise in the numbers of immigrants, which bring with them social and commercial networks making the enforcement of law and security challenges more difficult and complicated. Finally, the rapidly growing advancing technology with improved global communications has contributed to an expansion of trade and financial markets making it easier and more attractive for criminals to operate in any illicit activity.
Unquestionably, however, the last decade of the 20th century was marked by the unexpected end of the Cold War and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then, world politics have been dominated by a crisis of identity for the discipline of international relations, and in particular the subset of the field known as strategic or security studies. Most of the states, in an attempt to adapt to the new environment created by the end of the Cold War, have redefined their understanding of “security”. In particular, from the end of the World War II until the collapse of Communism in Europe, most states interpreted the concept of security primarily in terms of their relationship to the two global superpowers, whose ideological and military antagonism dominated world politics. With the end of this super-power confrontation the potential for large-scale conflict has diminished and the world appeared safer because of the removal of this direct threat to global peace. Despite this, however, the reality is that from the late 1980s the number of regional struggles has been increased dramatically. The end of the Cold War has certainly not banished the prospect or reality of armed conflict; in some ways, it has increased the risk of military conflict, even on the European mainland, as the brutal hostilities in the former Yugoslavia have illustrated.
Furthermore, it has been accepted that transnational crime flourishes best in the contexts provided by weak states. In the aftermath of the entire collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the new Russian state that assumed power in Moscow was from the outset a weak state and its institutional weakness led Russia, along with most of the other 14 independent states that emerged out of the former Soviet Union, to become hotbeds of organized crime over the decade of the 1990s. In such disastrous conditions of political uncertainty and economic devastation criminal groups took advantage of the situation and increased the scope of their activities. According to intelligence reports, the numerical size of the Russian Mafia accounts to 100,000 members owing allegiance to 8,000 stratified crime groups who control 70-80% of all private business and 40% of the nation’s wealth. A big number of those criminal are believed to be ex- and ex- officers who lost their posts in the reduction of forces that began after the end of the .
In addition, due to the new post-Cold War opportunities such as the lowering of economic and political barriers, the end of communist regimes and the founding of fragile new democracies, the increase in legitimate international trade, and the advances in technology that facilitate global communication and transport, criminals from all over the world saw the former Soviet Union as the greatest environment to operate their illicit activities. Towards this end, Sterling C. argues that the whole international underworld had moved in on post-communist Russia and the rest of the ex-Soviet bloc: raced in, from the day the Berlin Wall fell. Where western governments tended to see Russia itself as a basket case, the big syndicates saw it as a privileged sanctuary and bottomless source of instant wealth.
On top of that, however, the very same factors contributed to a massive increase in the numbers of criminal immigrants. It is assumed that the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union open the road to many Russian criminal groups, which took advantage of the new world order established at that period and wanted to expand their criminal enterprises abroad by creating networks among immigrant and organising their illicit activities without difficulty. The largest communities of those immigrants found residency in countries such as the United States, Germany and Israel. Each of these countries, therefore, became part of the Diaspora puzzle serving a specific function in the criminal activities of the Russian-speaking gangs.
Despite, however, the fact that the end of the Cold War and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union were not the only factors that contributed to the growing of transnatonal crime, they have undoubtedly manipulate the globe the most. The Russian Mafia, which has been identified as a transnational criminal organisation, along with a number of other criminal groups operating within the former Soviet Union have certainly helped towards such a growing of transnational crime. In his February 1997 state of the nation address, President Boris Yeltsin admitted that the “criminal world has openly challenged the state and launched into an open competition with it”, warning that “there is corruption at every level of power”. His concern reflected the danger posed by Russian organized crime groups, which threaten both international security and law enforcement interests. Similarly, according to the CSIS Russian Organized Crime Report, “Russian organized crime groups pose a unique law enforcement challenge, jeopardizing public safety throughout the world through their transnational criminal enterprises. Worldwide money laundering activity from Cyprus to the Cayman Islands and from Vanuatu in the Pacific to Venezuela; the assassination of American businessman Paul Tatum in Moscow; financial scams in New York; car theft rings in Europe; narcotics trafficking and money laundering alliances with Colombian and Nigerian drug lords and the Italian mafia represent but a few of the tentacles extended by Russian organized crime networks throughout the world. Currently 200 large Eurasian criminal organizations operate worldwide and have formed alliances with their criminal counterparts in 50 countries (including 26 U.S. cities)”.
We can easily argue, therefore, that the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union have affected the growing of transnational crime massively. Despite this, however, we cannot forget what was happening before the coming of glasnost and perestroika. As Rosner argues in 1993, “crime and corruption in Russia are nothing new”. What has grown to become the formulation of criminal groups that now threaten international peace and safety were sown in the very system of communism and its inherent and absolute policy of the state owning all goods and services. Current practices of bribery and corruption certainly existed during the times of czars and historically have been an embedded part of the very nature of Russian society.
Nevertheless, concluding our tour into the world of transnational crime and its growing after the end of the Cold War era, we can easily argue that our planet is facing with a relatively new challenge; the immediate elimination of such criminal activities. The impact that the unexpected termination of the Cold War had on international peace and security may be huge, but was not able to drive alone transnational crime in such a growing. Instead, the combination of a number of factors such as the lowering of economic and political barriers, the end of communist regimes and the founding of fragile new democracies, the increase in legitimate international trade, and the advances in technology that facilitate global communication and transport have undoubtedly contributed to this end.
Finally, as former Director of the CIA, R. James Woolsey, described “...the tools of diplomacy are ineffective and irrelevant in dealing directly with these criminal groups. Even under the most difficult, intractable period of the Cold War, if consensus was not possible, communication was, nevertheless, feasible. Not so in the world of organized crime. Although we do negotiate with our key allies and friends to better attack the problem, there is no negotiating table where we can try to work out a compromise or reach a consensus with criminals....” For these reasons our future demands greater international cooperation, more harmonized legislation and an increased sharing of intelligence. How successful we are towards this end will surely determine our future.
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Louise Shelley (2006), “The Globalization of Crime and Terrorism”, e-journal USAhttp://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0206/ijge/shelley.htm
Petrie C. & Reuter P. (1998), “Transnational Organized Crime: Summary of a Workshop” National Academic Press, p.1-2
Allan Castle (1997) “Transnational Organized Crime and International Security”, Institute of International Relations-The University of British Columbia, Working Paper No. 19, p.1http://www.cir.ubc.ca/site_template/workingpapers/webwp19.pdf
Cullen P. & Gilmore W. (1998) “CRIME SANS FRONTIERES: International and European Legal Approaches”, Edinburgh University Press, Vol6 No.1&2, P.1The David Hume Institute-http://www.davidhumeinstitute.com
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Sterling C (1994) “Crime without Frontiers-The Worldwide Expansion of Organised Crime and the Pax Mafiosa” Warner Books, p.3
Siegel D. “The Transnational Russian Mafia” in Siegel D., Henk Van de Bunt & Zaitch D. (2003) “Global Organized Crime-Trends and Developments”, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p.51
Center for Strategic & International Studies (1997), “Russian Organized Crime” Washington D.C.: CSIS http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_progj/task,view/id,706/
Ryan P. & Rush G. (1997) “Understanding Organized Crime in Global Perspective-A Reader”, Sage Publications, p.159
Mora Stephens (1996) “Global Organized Crime”, Woodrow Wilson School Policy Conference 401A Intelligence Reform in the Post-Cold War Era http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/snyder/globalcrime.htm