Critical Reflections on Transnational Organized Crime, Money Laundering, and Corruption

by Beare, Margaret E.

• ISBN13: 9780802081902
• ISBN10: 0802081908
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Toronto Pr

Summary

Transnational crime, organized crime, money laundering and corruption are four concepts that have gained and continue to gain an international and domestic profile. Is the information given to the public concerning these concepts distorted by the vested interests of some politicians, media, police, and international organizations whose existence or enhanced resources depend on the perception that there is an ever-growing 'threat'? Countries are expected to react to organized crime and corruption in a uniform manner based upon various agreements, conventions, and accords, but at what cost are these enforcement measures applied, and do they in fact effectively address the specific criminal activity? Internationally renowned contributors offer a wide range of challenges to the commonly-held views on transnational crime, including a historical piece that looks at how we arrived at current accepted interpretations of organized crime; recent analysis of the failure in both theory and practice of the war on money laundering; a call for a clearer evaluation of white collar and corporate crimes; and an analysis of the impact of foreign policies on foreign jurisdictions - all in the name of the 'drug war.' Theoretical essays are balanced with empirical studies that examine organized crime in terms of its lack of structure, lack of permanent commitment to specific crime, and lack of the accumulated wealth that has become the target of anti-money laundering crusades. At present, transnational crime, organized crime, money laundering, and corruption are no longer seen as separate entities, but are all too often combined as a 'package' believed to be connected to and supported by terrorism. While real societal threats are not discounted, Critical Reflections on Transnational Organized Crime, Money Laundering, and Corruptionargues that enforcement and policy efforts must be directed towards appropriate targets, and perceived threats must be more closely evaluated to prevent an escalating rhetoric of fear and, subsequently, wasted resources.

Author Biography

Margaret E. Beare is an associate professor of sociology and law at York University, and is the Director of the Nathanson Centre for the Study of Organized Crime and Corruption.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xi
MARGARET E. BEARE
1 Transnational Organized Crime: The Strange Career of an American Concept	3	(32)
MICHAEL WOODIWISS
2 Predators, Parasites, or Free-Market Pioneers: Reflections on the Nature and Analysis of Profit-Driven Crime	35	(20)
R.T. NAYLOR
3 From National to Global, from Empirical to Legal: The Ambivalent Concept of Transnational Organized Crime	55	(33)
VALSAMIS MITSILEGAS
4 The Business of Bribery: Globalization, Economic Liberalization, and the 'Problem' of Corruption	88	(32)
JAMES W. WILLIAMS AND MARGARET E. BEARE
5 Against Transnational Organized Crime	120	(25)
JAMES SHEPTYCKI
6 Discourse, Identity, and the U.S. 'War on Drugs'	145	(26)
KYLE GRAYSON
7 Global Markets and Crime	171	(12)
VINCENZO RUGGIERO
8 Organized Corporate Criminality: Corporate Complicity in Tobacco Smuggling	183	(24)
MARGARET E. BEARE
9 The War on Drugs and the Military: The Case of Colombia	207	(30)
JUAN G. RONDEROS
10 Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in Canada: A Study of High-Level Drug Networks	237	(19)
FREDERICK J. DESROCHES
11 Follow-the-Money Methods in Crime Control Policy	256	(35)
R.T. NAYLOR
Bibliography	291	(36)
Contributors	327	(4)
Index	331