NCJ Number
171303
Journal
Transnational Organized Crime Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1997) Pages: 68-86
Date Published
1997
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article investigates organized crime in Hungary as the country undergoes democratization.
Abstract
The organized crime in emerging democracies shows some similarities to that which has developed in Western democracies: it seems to flourish best in deregulated market economies; it has sought to penetrate political institutions; and it has often taken cynical advantage of liberal-democratic legal systems. The article explores the way in which organized crime has developed in Hungary, examines some of the responses to the problem, and discusses the role of sociopolitical, economic and organizational factors in understanding the rationality of organized crime. The claim that organized crime in Hungary is being deeply affected by the opportunities provided by the transition to democracy entails asking how the understanding of organized crime should be revised to take account of the lessons of change. The article theorizes about the development of crime in the region in terms of the shift from the monolithic socialist state to a pluralized civil society, albeit one where effective controls have not yet been established. Notes