Organized crime in the field of narco-criminality as a challenge of Western Balkans Countries: a special overview of Montenegro

Abstract

The Balkan region is an integral part of the "new" European environment. However, the involvement of the Balkans region in the new European architecture has been particularly problematic, with negative consequences for the entire European space and for the evolution of European integration. The process of transition and recovery now underway in many Balkans states, following years of conflict and instability, has given rise to new challenges for the region. In the political sphere, the main challenge has been the establishment of a liberal democracy, given that most countries in the region were only “partially" democratic before the Balkans conflict. A second important challenge has been to establish a positive identification of the state by its citizens. In the social field, one can observe weak organizational capacity on the part of social actors, and an underdeveloped civil society. In this context, the presence of organized crime has a particularly detrimental effect on the development, stability and security of the Balkans in general, and it poses a challenge to the state apparatus and a major obstacle for legal, political and economic reforms. Organized crime is an open and extremely painful wound in human society around the globe. Distinguished experts in this field consider the Balkans Peninsula to be an entry gate for organized crime in Western Europe. Therefore, organized crime not only presents a risk for individuals and the society within a specific country, but it also presents political problem across countries. In this part of our Peninsula, Montenegro plays a key role. However, this fact does not exclude the reality of cooperation between Serbian, Italian, Greek, Russian organized criminal groups, which are the main transporters for narcotics, since many organized criminal groups are composed of the different ethnicities. In an effort to clearly present a picture of this phenomenon, the present paper will firstly present research which is key to understanding the criminal structure of organized crime groups in Montenegro. In addition, this paper will examine the cooperation that exists between organized crime groups in Montenegro and other international groups, including their interests in criminal activity generally, and the field of narco-criminality in particular.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n19p580