Security Implications of a Transnational Criminal Organization; The Russian Mafiya

Abstract

Abstract : Transnational Criminal Organizations are a disease or plague on the world Using this construct, this paper examines the Russian Mafiya, one strain of this disease, and analyzes the resultant security implications for the United States. It begins with a review of the conditions that led to the recent emergence of the Russian Mafiya as a disease on the world community, followed by an examination of what this disease consists of, how it spreads, and its effects on the health of nation states and the world community. It then provides a review of United States actions to date to combat the disease of transnational criminal organizations in general, and the Russian Mafiya specifically, where examples exist. Finally, it ends with proposed actions to counter the influence of the Russian Mafiya and transnational criminal organizations in the future, both through U.S. unilateral and international means. Due to the scope of transnational criminal organizations, this paper does not attempt to analyze all transnational criminal organizations but concentrates on the Russian Mafiya as an archetype disease organism which threatens the world community.