Understanding Transnational Organized Crime: a constructivist approach towards a growing phenomenon
Generally speaking, ends, ways and means of Organized Crime (OC) remain consistent: the main motive of OC was, is and will be profit ("ends"). Trade with any goods, even human beings, is still the most powerful lever ("means") to gain profit. And the central method ("ways&qu...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
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| In: |
SIAK-Journal
Year: 2011, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Pages: 38-46 |
| Online Access: |
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Summary: | Generally speaking, ends, ways and means of Organized Crime (OC) remain consistent: the main motive of OC was, is and will be profit ("ends"). Trade with any goods, even human beings, is still the most powerful lever ("means") to gain profit. And the central method ("ways") is corruption. What is "new" in regard to OC is the increasingly transnational character of this phenomenon, in terms of an expansion in volume, geographical scope, and the complexity of the criminal process. Organized Crime is no longer an isolated issue of criminality in a single country, but a transnational problem affecting the global system and international relations. Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) today is much more about transactions and related processes than actual products; its real power and flexibility therefore lies in the network of nodes that connects initial production and final distribution of any good or service that it encompasses. From our point of view, it is not possible to define TOC through a positivist or normative approach that claims to describe the phenomenon definitively. As shown in this article, the idea of a single model that defines TOC as entity, unavoidably leads to misinterpretation because this man-made phenomenon appears in various fields of criminal activity and also acts through diverse types of organizational structures. Instead, we apply a constructivist view that incorporates these varied dimensions of TOC into account and enhances our explanatory power and flexibility. Through such an approach, TOC can be understood primarily as a set of interactions - and therefore its process-related character becomes much clearer. |
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| ISSN: | 1813-3495 |
| DOI: | 10.7396/2011_2_D |