Transnational Crime in the Americas / Edition 1

by Tom J. Farer

Overview

Organized criminal enterprise penetrates widely and deeply, offecting the performance of private businesses, and national and local governments of all of the Western Hemisphere countries. It poses one of the most significant challenges to security, peace, and democracy in the Americas, and, for that matter, in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and other parts of the world.

But what are the principal characteristics of criminal enterprises in the Americas? What impact do they have on governments, societies, and legitimate enterprises both in the Americas and other parts of the world? How high a priority should this be for the United States? How well have past and present government initiatives worked? These are the questions this volume seeks to answer. It also examines offshore financial activity, drug smuggling, and organized crime and identifies a number of ideas legislators should be taking more seriously.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900415923018
Publication date:	10/14/1999
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Tom J. Farer is the Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver and is the former President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States and of the University of New Mexico. Within the United States Government, he has served as special assistant to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense and to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Preface	xi
	Introduction	xiii
1	Transnational Organized Crime: An Overview	1
2	International Organized Crime, National Security, and the "Market State"	39
3	Offshore Money	57
4	Smuggling Wars: Law Enforcement and Law Evasion in a Changing World	85
5	Transnational Criminal Enterprise: The European Perspective	99
6	The Impact of the Illegal Drug Industry on Colombia	117
7	The Decentralization Imperative and Caribbean Criminal Enterprises	143
8	Transnational Criminal Organizations in Bolivia	171
9	Semiorganized International Crime: Drug Trafficking in Mexico	193
10	Bad Business: A Commentary on the Criminology of Organized Crime in the United States	217
	Conclusion: Fighting Transnational Organized Crime: Measures Short of War	245
	Contributors	297
	Index	301

Editorial Reviews

Looks at principal characteristics of criminal enterprise in the Americas, and examines the impact of transnational criminal enterprise on governments, societies, and legitimate enterprises both in the Americas and other parts of the world. Considers the role of the US in combating transnational crime, and describes the impact of past and present initiatives. Also examines offshore financial activity, drug smuggling, and organized crime. The editor is affiliated with the University of Denver. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"Farer has assembled a dazzling array of tough-minded experts. The result is a sober but terrifying account of the challenge to the community of nations from those whose chosen profession is crime on a global scale. Must reading for anyone who wants to get an intellectual grip on contemporary international criminal activity and what it means for our post-Cold War foreign policy." — William D. Rogers, Senior Partner, Arnold & Porter
"This provocative and insightful volume contributes to the necessary debate over the policies and strategies for cooperation among states, and on the effective ways to combat such illegal activities. It constitutes a must-read reference for anyone interested in understanding, assessing and studying the subject." — Cesar Gaviria, Secretary General, Organization of American States
"This is an important book that goes beyond the traditional drug trafficking focus and highlights the vulnerabilities of states to penetration by criminal organizations, the dynamics of illegal markets, and some of the strategies that can be used in combating phenomena that have become as pervasive as they are intractible. For both area specialists and students of transnational organized crime this excellent collection is essential reading." — Phil Williams, Professor and Director, Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies

From the Publisher