Transnational Crime, Corruption, and Crony Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century: An Asia-Pacific Perspective

• NCJ Number: 190050
• Journal: Transnational Organized Crime Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 1998 Pages: 1-30
• Author(s): John McFarlane
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 30 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This article assesses the status of transnational crime in the Asia-Pacific region, with attention to corruption, and recommends strategies for countering it.

Abstract

Transnational crime in its various manifestations is on the increase in the Asia-Pacific region, and this trend is unlikely to be reversed in the foreseeable future. The Asian financial crisis has created circumstances in which it has been even more difficult for countries to allocate the appropriate resources and expertise to counter the increasing threat of transnational crime, particularly if police resources must be diverted to undertake public-order tasks, as has occurred in some countries in the region. There is a close nexus between public corruption and the increase in transnational crime -- drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, money laundering, sex slavery, and pedophilia -- and many other types of criminal activity. The massive funds generated by transnational crime, particularly drug trafficking, can corrupt or suborn almost any system. Corruption is a major threat to democracy, economic and social development, and good governance. There is cause for optimism, however. At both the United Nations and regional levels, there is now a much greater awareness of the dangers posed by transnational crime in its various manifestations; and practical, legal, law enforcement, and political measures are being taken to deal with the problem. As a result of the greater regional cooperation to counter transnational crime and shared concern over such issues as the Asian financial crisis and the problems in Indonesia, there is a much greater awareness of the serious implications of allowing corruption, crony capitalism, and nepotism to flourish. Almost every government in the Asia-Pacific region is taking these problems more seriously, and there is a strong determination throughout the region to combat corrupt practices and those who benefit from them. There is an increasing awareness that international capital and aid, so essential for the rejuvenation of the regional economies badly affected by the financial crisis, could be denied to those countries that allow corruption to thrive. 7 tables and 89 notes