Transatlantic Euro-American Multimedia LLC
All contents of this website Copyright © Transatlantic Euro-
Transnational Organized Crime:
The International Response
The International Response
Sidney E. Dean, Editor
Hampton Roads International Security Quarterly, Vol. XII, Nr. 1
(Jan. 2012)
(Jan. 2012)
Much attention has been devoted to transnational terrorism over the past decade – and rightly so. Yet there is another transnational threat which has been expanding exponentially, but with a much lower profile, over the past two decades.
Transnational Organized Crime or TOC is much more likely than terrorism to directly threaten the individual citizen of any western nation. Individuals are threatened by transnational identity theft and credit card fraud. Corporations (and workers) suffer because of intellectual property piracy. Human trafficking takes a terrible toll on victims.
But Transnational Organized Crime is also a very real threat to national and international security, encompassing weapons and military technology smuggling, the global drug trade, and maritime piracy. Then there is the nexus of TOC and terrorism, where drug cartels employ terrorism to discourage government prosecution, and terrorist groups engage in organized crime in order to finance their operations.
Governments in North America, Europe and Asia have recognized the need to cooperate in the fight against TOC. American and European experts met in Lisbon in May 2011 to discuss dismantling TOC networks; their final report was released in November. Pacific nations held a similar conference in Phuket in October. The US government’s National Security Council released the US strategy for combating transnational organized crime in July 2011, classifying TOC as a national security threat. The US strategy places great emphasis on international cooperation as well.
Transnational Organized Crime or TOC is much more likely than terrorism to directly threaten the individual citizen of any western nation. Individuals are threatened by transnational identity theft and credit card fraud. Corporations (and workers) suffer because of intellectual property piracy. Human trafficking takes a terrible toll on victims.
But Transnational Organized Crime is also a very real threat to national and international security, encompassing weapons and military technology smuggling, the global drug trade, and maritime piracy. Then there is the nexus of TOC and terrorism, where drug cartels employ terrorism to discourage government prosecution, and terrorist groups engage in organized crime in order to finance their operations.
Governments in North America, Europe and Asia have recognized the need to cooperate in the fight against TOC. American and European experts met in Lisbon in May 2011 to discuss dismantling TOC networks; their final report was released in November. Pacific nations held a similar conference in Phuket in October. The US government’s National Security Council released the US strategy for combating transnational organized crime in July 2011, classifying TOC as a national security threat. The US strategy places great emphasis on international cooperation as well.
The complete text of all three documents is reprinted in this volume.