McMafia by Misha Glenny
This is an eye-opening and shocking look at the burgeoning business of international crime. Glenny is an expert travel guide to some of the murkiest and most sinister corners of the world and he fills his account with colorful episodes and anecdotes. Even more valuable, he does a masterful job of explaining the political background and errors that enabled these international criminals to flourish.
Glenny is strongest when discussing the Balkans (his area of expertise) and the former Soviet Union and its satellites. He explains how the United States turned its back on Russia after the end of the Cold War. As central authority fell apart, shadowy mafias formed alliances with former KGB officers ready to smuggle arms, prostitutes and drugs to a hungry European market.
Glenny looks at the rebel Russian enclave known as the "Independent Republic of Transnistria" between Ukraine and Moldova which became a virtual mafia fiefdom. Under President Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine made crime and criminals part of government and the port of Odessa became a key transhipment point.
We also look at the Russian mafia in Israel and the sordid and tragic business of forced prostitution of naive young girls from the former Soviet Union.
Next it's on to Nigeria, which Glenny calls a "Potemkin State" where corruption rules everything and where the computer scammers who trap greedy and ignorant westerners are hailed as national heroes.
We take side trips to South Africa, Dubai, China and Japan. Wherever you turn, enterprising and ruthless criminals are carving out empires, playing on the greed and stupidity of westerners and their perverse desires for illicit sex and drugs.
We in the West are the ultimate fools in this scenario -- because we are the customers.
The chapter explaining the nexus between Colombian cartels and the United States was the only part of the book I felt had been overtaken by events. President Uribe has managed to largely break the cartels and the FARC guerrillas -- only to have their role usurped by even more bloodthirsty Mexican gangs spreading murder and mayhem all the way to the U.S. border and occasionally beyond.
Here is a key lesson: as soon as one mafia is broken, another arises to take its place.
This is an important book. It explains how crime has gone global. These gangs may differ in the commodities they sell or the things they steal but they are alike in their utter ruthlessness and disregard for human life. They operate with incredible cruelty.
Glenny's theory is that global crime has been spurred by technology, the disappearance of trade and other barriers and of course the huge disparity between the world's rich and poor.
It's an upsetting book in many ways. Police and law enforcement agencies struggle with inadequate resources to combat the scourge. They occasionally score some successes -- but the problem only grows.