Very Important Final Paper-7pages

CRIME,  CORRUPTION,  AND  THE  GREY   ECONOMY

8.1  INTS  2370

Transnational  Organized  Crime

• Building  Norms:  Progressing  but  still  stovepiped and  vaguely  defined • Corruption:  Normative  and  institutional  progress,  spotty  implementation • Following  the  Money:  Increasingly  legislated,  uneven  implementation • Narcotrafficking:  Stuck  in  criminalization  paradigm • The  War  on  Illicit  Weapons:  Rising  awareness,  limited  scope • Illicit  markets:  Lacks  comprehensive  framework,  international  agreement • Combating  cyber  crime:  Advancing  from  anarchy,  but  constant  challenges • Combating  human  trafficking  and  migrant  smuggling:  Record  progress,  

but  inadequate

Corruption

• Bribery,  nepotism,  bid-­‐rigging,  embezzlement,  extortion,  vote-­‐buying,   price-­‐fixing,  protection  rackets,  etc…

• Corruption  as  a  function  of  the  market – Roving  bandits  (extortion),  stationary  bandits  (tax)  -­‐ Olson – “The  only  thing  worse  than  a  society  with  a  rigid,  over-­‐centralized,  dishonest   bureaucracy  is  one  with  a  rigid,  over-­‐centralized,  honest  bureaucracy.”  – Huntington

• Corruption  as  inherently  destabilizing – Blowback  in  Afghanistan  leading  to  a  “force  multiplier  for  the  enemy” – Do  the  ends  justify  the  means?

The  Long  History  of  U.S.  Crime

• U.S.  rebellion  partially  stems  from  British  crackdown  on  sanctioned   smuggling – Extended  to  goods,  technology,  and  intellectual  property

• Now  the  world’s  leading  anti-­‐smuggling  crusader – More  incarcerated  individuals  for  drugs  than  all  of  Europe  combined  for  all   offenses

– Militarized  borders – “Wars  of  globalization”  against  piracy  and  counterfitting

• Root  cause:  outmoded  labor  regulations,  dysfunctional  immigration   system,  punitive  drug-­‐control,  failure  in  health  and  education