Introduction
Transnational crimes can be seen to affect the democracy of a nation and the economic growth of that country in that it affects the trade of that country by draining the available assets of that country and hence as a result, transnational crimes should be discouraged. Also, transitional crimes affect the security of that country in that the criminals threaten the citizens of that country by robbing off their properties including the assets they have and hence you find that at the end if these transnational crimes are not curbed, then, in the long run, you find that the developed and stable societies are affected due to the arising threats and lack of security.
Transnational crimes affect the democracy of that country in that if they are allowed to persist, then you find that these citizens do not enjoy being citizens of that country since they always live in fear so there is no need to be proud of that country and at the end, you find that democracy is not depicted in such a situation. (Edwards, and Gill, 2002 pp. 23-24)
Transnational crimes in a wider sense can be seen as a challenge to international security and international order. Some of the examples of transnational crimes include mere smuggling of goods and services and you find that smuggling of goods and services has taken place ever since the imposition of economic exchange controls between countries. Cross border corporation and strategic alliances between criminal organizations is actually a new phenomenon to be discussed. Another effect of these transnational crimes is that they threaten the integrity of states and the international system in which these states actually operate. (Edwards, and Gill, 2002)
It is known that the scope of transnational crimes as a component of the global economy has massively increased and it is actually known that the massive increase of this crime would actually qualify as a major growth industry since they actually deal with large quantities of smuggled goods that’s why they can qualify to be a major industry but at the wrong way. The provision of illegal goods and services is not actually a new phenomenon in almost all of the states globally.
You find that transnational organized crimes have a connection with economic globalization. Several related factors have actually led to an increase in transnational crimes like the political changes at the end of the cold war which eventually led to the international movement of people and trade and the free market movement of goods and services. Transnational crimes hence in this case refers to the movement between western industrialized countries and the developing countries in the process of free trade and hence you find that since these people have to intermingle, then you find that make cases of transnational crisis eventually occur. Some of the negative impacts of globalization are noted to be an increase in criminal activities.
These globalization factors have in the end opened roads for transnational crimes like the technological changes. Due to the cheaper and faster transportation accrued, you find that there has been trafficking of illicit goods and services, the improved technology in computer systems which has led to rapid cash transactions. (Edwards, and Gill, 2002 pp. 25-26)
The social economic and political changes
It is known that the most significant social-political event of recent decades that has created opportunities for transnational crimes is the Perestroika which is the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the market-oriented economies. It is known that by the year 1990s, Russia organized a crime and had secured fifty percent of the economy and some of the secured economies included the possession of 1800banks, 4000 companies, and 1500 state-owned companies, and these transnational crimes by Russia operated in forty countries.
This can be a clear example of a transnational crime by Russia by operating in forty countries and securing most of the competitive firms of the economy in that country. These crime groups by Russia infiltrated both public and private industries and in the end, they legitimized themselves so that both the licit and illicit products all became blurred and of course it is a crime. Due to this, they have replaced the labor markets and the existing trade unions. As a result, you find that most of the investors have a negative attitude in these countries and hence can’t invest in them since they are dominated by the criminals of trade and hence as a result, the economy of these countries has eventually gone down.
Also, you find that there are large capital flights from these countries estimated to be $1 billion per month and hence the economy goes down. You find also that Russia is a country, which is fully developed with high technology and high business practices, and hence as a result, you find that they make fraud documents and credit defaults, and hence this makes their criminal activities difficult to establish and more complex for people to detect. (Edwards, and Gill, 2002 pp. 27-29)
Due to the liberalization of trade in the developing countries, you find that most of these developing countries are in a position to compete with the already developed countries due to the liberalization of these markets and hence as a result, you find that these markets act as markets for trafficking goods and services since these are usually ready markets which deal with sophisticated goods, goods e.g. high technology and the quality of goods here is usually high. You also find that due to the liberalization of these markets there is increased shipping and aviation since these countries actually deal with large quantities of goods and services.
Tourism is also depicted in this case since you find that most of the tourists actually come from the developed countries to the developing countries since the various scenes in these countries like agriculture and wildlife attract them. Due to the introduction of NAFTA, you find that there is free movement of the goods and services and hence you find that there is a ready market for trafficking of these goods. Political integration has also led to trafficking in that due to the political integration of Eastern Europe and South Africa, the increased trade to new markets has led to goods trafficking in these countries. (Edwards, and Gill, 2002 pp.30)
NAFTA and Social-economic growth
NAFTA is an agreement between three North American countries that is the United States, Canada and Mexico is a trade agreement in order to protect the exploitation of developing countries by the already developed countries. Since the formation of this agreement, these three countries have been in a position to expand massively. Since the establishment of NAFTA, these countries have had fabulous growth in their economies and the citizens are actually prosperous..
It sets to reduce all tariffs and quotas for all goods and services leaving and entering a country so you find that there are no border checks and hence goods and services are in a position to enter and leave a country freely. Today the global economy is characterized by various things which include global communication systems, movement of goods and services, transnational corporations for instance like the case of Wal-Mart, and the global agreements that help to promote trade like NAFTA and various other trade agreements like the WTO and GATT which are actually established in order to protect trade in the developing countries.
And hence, as a result, you find that the poor countries are in a position to compete effectively with the developed countries in the trade markets Despite the advantages of NAFTA, it is facing various challenges in migration, labor, security, and monitory policies and in transportation. (Edwards, and Gill, 2002 pp. 31-32)
NAFTA and transnational crimes
NAFTA has led to the loss of 350,000 jobs in the United States. It is also due to the removal of all these barriers that there is the existence of a free market which actually allows free trade from all countries and hence as a result, you find that many countries are in a position to compete effectively with the developed countries and hence eventually you find that there is the trafficking of goods by the well-established countries like Russia since they are fully developed and with high technology to fraud some of the goods and services. There is also high corruption with the introduction of these trade agreements since you find that the most developed countries since they are developed, can fraud most of the goods. (Edwards, and Gill, 2002 pp. 33-34)
Fighting transnational crimes
In almost every country, democracy has to be shown by observing the law since they are integral to the success of foreign policies. The growing transnational crimes if not controlled can destroy the economies of the countries affected and hence it should be stopped and one of the most effective ways to curb transnational crimes is by providing law enforcement training in most of the affected countries like Russia. (Collins, 2000 pp. 63)
Conclusion
Transnational crimes can be seen to affect the democracy of a nation and the economic growth of that country in that it affects the trade of that country by draining the available assets of that country and hence as a result, transnational crimes should be discouraged. Efforts are been made in Europe and North America in order to control transnational crimes arising in many states. Measures relating to drug offenses, bribery, fraud, and embezzlement should be curbed in order to ensure that the markets of these economies actually develop.
Reference
Collins, R (2000). Transnational Organized Crime, Toronto: Toronto University pp. 63.
Edwards, A. and Gill, P (2002): Transnational Organized Crime. London: London Press Routledge pp. 23-34.