In the current processes of political, economic and cultural changes serious cross-border forms of organized crime receive unprecedented attention as spectacular global media events, as 'threats' of all sorts, and as priority targets of criminal policy and political agendas. Most books on 'global organized crime' focus on one particular region, topic or event, and are written from one specific theoretical and disciplinary framework.
The renowned scholars who have contributed to this volume present up-to-date expertise on regions as distant and different as Russia, Colombia, the Netherlands, Israel, Peru and Britain. They tackle phenomena such as international drug trafficking, alien and women smuggling, terrorism, East European organized crime and financial crimes. They show not only how these issues are interrelated, but also the way in which they interact with social, economic and political legitimate structures. The contributors critically question the policies and strategies currently pursued. They explore different theoretical arguments from the perspective of their own disciplines, which include economics, criminology, political science and anthropology.

Recent trends in cocaine trafficking in the Netherlands and Spain.- Ecstasy in Israel and abroad.- The war against drugs and the interests of governments.- Illicit drugs in the Andes five years after UNGASS-98.- Organized crime in former Yugoslavia.- The transnational Russian mafia.- The Russian and Polish mafia in central Europe.- Natashas and Turkish men: new trends in women trafficking and prostitution.- Trafficking in human beings: an international perspective.- The social organisation of human trafficking.- Smuggling aliens toward the Netherlands: the role of human smugglers and transnational networks.- Organising financial crimes: breaking the economic power oforganised crime groups?.- Quicksand; the 'proceeds-of-crime-approach'.- The effects of terrorism on crime patterns in society: the case of Israel.- Financial controls of terrorism and informal value transfer methods.- 'The ties that bind': uncovering the relationship between organised crime and terrorism.- About the authors.- References.