NCJ Number
135520
Date Published
1992
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The changing political and economic landscape of Europe in the 1990's will pose new challenges for business security.
Abstract
Old nationalist issues, such as the independence of Northern Ireland and the Spanish Basque country, are unlikely to be settled in the present decade. Terrorist groups such as the Irish Republican Army will continue to attack governments and provoke political instability and polarization. These groups often extort money from and threaten business, and refusal to pay can lead to attacks against company executives or premises. The issue of nationalism has not yet bred organized separatist groups in Eastern Europe, but ethnic divisions resulting from the conversion to a market economy could produce political instability and terrorism. The accelerating devolution of power from the center to constituent republics of the old Soviet Union also represents a significant source of instability. As economic and social conditions continue to decline in both the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, foreign businesses may be singled out for popular hostility. The collapse of the Soviet Union also poses the threat of a tide of economic migrants. Western Europe's ultraleftists will remain a small but significant threat to businesses, and transnational terrorism perpetrated by Middle Eastern groups will continue to be a major problem. Environmental and animal rights groups will pose a further threat to businesses. In general, the trend toward political and economic unification in Europe and the resurgence of nationalism and economic weakness in Eastern Europe will fuel political instability and crime.