Organized crime has existed for many years and provides illegal or regulated goods and services. Globalization has increased organized crime by removing borders and increasing wealth inequality. It has made money laundering easier through open markets and tax havens. Organized crime threatens democracy by limiting freedom through violence, corruption and fear. When crime groups fully control a region, they often do so through collusion with the government, undermining the rule of law. Strategies to confront organized crime must be international in scope to address its global nature.

1. 1
The Politics of organized crime
Ana Lucia Johnson Antelo
Rn690595
Ana_johnson@hotmail.com
Azul Aguiar, Guillermo Valle, Salvatore Sberna
June 22th 2014, Tlaquepaque Jalisco.

2. 2
Introduction
According to the United Nations, organized crime is "a structured group of three or
more persons with a continuity in time and acting in concert with the aim of committing
one or more crimes in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a benefit economic or other
material order” (ONU, 2010)
Organized crime has existed for many years, "exists to provide goods and services
that are illegal, are regulated by certain laws or are scarce" (Finckenauer, 2007) that
probably will never change, over the years, the mechanisms for end this problem have
evolved as well as the laws and public policies, but if you really go hand in hand this
problem would be over, so it's clear that organized crime always seems to be a step
forward. The main factor in this change is undoubtedly globalization.
Globalization is a phenomenon of the new century, where countries open their
markets by an effect of interconnected countries having economic, technological, social,
cultural, political effects and capitalist expansion. Globalization has united the world, and
also has positives aspects and its negatives, this phenomenon is everywhere, sooner or later
come to be part of organized crime and illegal acts. So criminals do not have geographical
barriers by many organizations criminals not only problem in a particular area but it illegal
to be international in scope. "What might seem the product of globalization is actually the
result of state repression exporting the problem to other countries” (Varese, 2010, pág. 8)
Currently globalization has changed the way crimes are committed, because it
brings consign immense benefits like borderless, free customs, sophisticated weapons,
technological advances, and tax heavens where you can launder money and so it legitimize
all of this, being nonexistent in past years making money laundering much more easy now
days. "Globalization will Increase the Ability of mafia groups to obtain that some of the
resources without having they need to move" (Varese, Chapter 1 2010) that is why some
organizations have obtain presence in different countries and even continents.
Another negative effect of globalization is causing the concentration of wealth, due
to the open market so the most developed countries just get more get richer which makes

3. 3
the number of poor increase, coupled with technological advances and scientific
occasioning high unemployment and low supply of working and living in such a
competitive world, people have to find their own opportunities to succeed, and these
opportunities often only find it in counterfeiting, piracy, robbery, drug market, etc. for
many people this is the easiest way to make money and gain recognition. According to
Finckenauer the principal reason of O.C. are economic reasons, since to get easy money by
any, means possible is the main interest of organized crime groups (Finckenauer, 2007)
Transnational organized crime has become a major threat to security in the
international system. Varese Takes the word transplantation to mean "The Ability of a
mafia group to operate an outpost over a sustained period outside its region of origin and as
contrary to democracy could say that criminal organizations make similarity to a state
totalitarian regime operation" (Varese, Whats is organized crime, 2011, pág. 16)
On the other side, I think that democracy of a country is affected by organized
crime, which according to the Royal Spanish Academy democracy is the "Doctrine in favor
of intervention in the government policy" (Royal Spanish Academy) where the power it
resides in people, but democracy also relates to the fact as citizens and approval that gives
their representatives, then when a society is living in fear, violence, corruption, etc. you
could not call it democracy, but a country with limited freedom.
According to political science regime is how the State exercises its power, it is clear
as organized crime threatens the stability and democracy of a country, and trigger fear and
fear of society, as Hanna Arendt. Terror is the main tool of totalitarianism because it
eliminates freedom, limiting free speech, safety, etc. "eliminating the ability of men to act."
Terror exercises to control and not have opponents” (Arendt., 1951)
In my opinion, the democracy is affected by organized crime because it takes away
the stability of a nation, immediately take away from the main population is security law,
which the state is obliged to provide. Usually when a mob is fully in a region is because the
government is in collusion with them, therefore end up being the same criminals who

4. 4
govern. A democratic regime that does not respect human rights primarily of its citizens
cannot be named like that.
Conclusion
Organized crime is a threat for democracy in our country, for our freedom and our rights as
citizens are limited by many criminal organizations. It is necessary to confront organized
crime through strategies that are carried internationally, in the case of Mexico change the
free trade agreement and sign international treaties for greater cooperation between the
States involved in drug trafficking (Echeverry, 2010)
Usually organized crime seeks to neutralize the government by bribing either court,
prosecutors, lawyers, civil servants, etc. regardless socioeconomic level people
(Finckenauer, 2007), corruption will always find the way, is by why suitable and ethically
prepared for these positions, so for people to reduce crime are needed.
The government in a democracy must be for the people, when crime is involved in the
government, the government turns to crime and undermines the rule of law affecting the
basic rights, such as security, tranquility, employment, and crime increases, causing the
government does not advance. The best way to fight with organizations has to do with the
prevention, I mean a good education and etic) and abolition of the demand of the illegal
goods traded by the criminal organizations.
For me, the most important thing I learned in this course is that organized crime is not just a
problem of sub developed countries, is a global problem that transpose borders, which also
involves countries of first world such as Italy, Japan and even The American hegemony.
We have to use the phenomenon of globalization to neutralizer these big problem that affect
everybody, includes the people who lives in “safety” countries.

5. 5
Bibliografía
Arendt., H. (1951). Biblioteca virtual de derecho, economia y siencias sociales .
Recuperado el 13 de 05 de 2014, de The origins of totalitarianism:
http://www.eumed.net/libros-gratis/2007b/300/119.htm
Echeverry, J. (2010). Universidad de Los Andes. Obtenido de
file:///C:/Users/admin/Downloads/Echeverry_y_Gomez.pdf
Finckenauer, J. (2007). Mafia and Organized Crime. Barcelona: Oneworld publicatons.
ONU. (2010). Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Delincuencia Organizada
Transnacional y sus protocolos. Recuperado el 20 de 06 de 2014, de
http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Conventi
on/TOCebook-s.pdf
Real Academia Española. (s.f.). Democracia. Recuperado el 22 de 06 de 2014, de
http://lema.rae.es/drae/srv/search?key=democracia
Varese, F. (2010). Recuperado el 22 de 06 de 2014, de
http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9344.pdf
Varese, F. (2011). Whats is organized crime. Obtenido de
http://cursos.iteso.mx/pluginfile.php/454816/mod_resource/content/2/VARESE_W
hat_is_Organized_Crime-Introduction%20%281%29.pdf