Browsing by Author "Kukhianidze, Alexandre"

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    Democracy and Super-Mafia
    (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi state university, Faculty of social and political sciences, 2021-06) Kukhianidze, Alexandre
    Liberal Versus Illiberal Democracy Some of the new political regimes from the former communist countries that call themselves democracies, question the effectiveness of various forms of state organization. Their political leaders declare traditional values as opposed to liberal democratic values, in which a liberal state must give way to an illiberal state. Alternative approaches of illiberal democracy include: order, family, religion, the cult of the motherland, mythologization of the past, control of the media, the special role of the army and special services, and even claims to restore the death penalty. They use populism for propaganda purposes in combination with the “strong hand” method of the head of state, they seek to bring the judicial system under control (that is, under their control), as one of the branches of government, take direct control of the state media, prosecute representatives of the political opposition and prominent public figures who are disloyal to them. Political leaders who openly advocate illiberal democracy, argue that Western values based on human rights, respect for minorities, the rule of law, and free trade are now obsolete, and European Christian democracy has been led astray by liberalism. In fact, they bring their countries under an authoritarian model of government similar to the one that exists in Russia under President Vladimir Putin. The term "illiberal democracy" is a form of verbiage which covers various forms of authoritarianism and, despite the statements of their political leaders, have nothing to do with the fundamental principles of democracy and individual freedom. Super-Mafia The best antidote against organized crime is the development of democracy which is not tolerant of them. Super-Mafia means that state power is seized not only by politicians, but also representatives of special services and the Mafia-style organized crime groups. They act in concert, and their actions are so intertwined and secretive that it is quite difficult even for experts to separate politics from criminal activity. In fact, representatives of the mafia are turning into big business people and politicians, and politicians and representatives of special services implement Mafia functions. The main goal of that type of Mafia is a combination of both illegal enrichment and political power. This phenomenon hardly fits into the framework of the traditional model of the institute of thieves in law (or Russian Mafia Bosses) set forth in the famous book by Mark Galeotti, The Vory: Russia‟s Super Mafia, which provides a brilliant analysis of Russian professional organized crime. The state of affairs in the Russian Federation with its repeated political killings, unprecedented thefts of state resources, the suppression of political opponents, the creation of bloody medieval regimes in the North Caucasus, is significantly different from the traditional understanding of organized crime. The Russian state is captured by a group of people combining in their actions the functions of special services, oligarchs, leaders of organized crime and politicians which can be called Super Mafia - term which is more suitable for the modern political regime of Russia than for the Russian professional organized crime.
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    The Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Transnational Organized Crime
    (2020) Kukhianidze, Alexandre
    Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent restriction on freedom of movement and closure of state borders in most countries, transnational organized crime throughout the world has encountered unprecedented difficulties in pursuing its criminal goals. However, these difficulties prompted her to search for new opportunities, methods and ways of criminal activity. The movement of smuggled goods, trafficking of people across state borders, as well as the use of traditional methods of extortion and corruption schemes have become much more difficult due to the tightening of control and ban on many areas of human activity, primarily international transport of goods and people, as well as the use by most governments of tough measures, including the introduction of a state of emergency, curfew and the restriction of fundamental constitutional freedoms of citizens. Transnational organized crime is a multifaceted area of criminal activity and the peak of the pandemic has not yet been reached in all countries, this is why it is too early to summarize the final results of the impact on human civilization and the international economy of its consequences. Therefore, at this stage it is possible to consider only the preliminary consequences of the ambiguous impact of the pandemic on transnational organized crime. The United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime does not define “transnational organized crime” (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, 2004). It also does not list the types of crime that may constitute it. This lack of definition was intended to ensure wider application of UNTOC to new types of crimes that constantly appear as global, regional and local conditions change over time. (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved on May 27, 2020). But the Convention contains the definition of an “organized criminal group”, which consists of three or more people, that was not randomly formed, exists for a certain period of time, acts in concert with the aim of committing at least one crime punishable by imprisonment for a term of at least four years, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, financial or other material benefits (Ibid.). According to the UNODC, the term “transnational crime” refers to crimes committed in more than one state, or it is planned in one state, and committed in another. It is interpreted as covering almost all serious criminal activity motivated by profit, which has international consequences. This definition takes into account the global complexity of the problem, but seems incomplete, since it does not include such a form of transnational organized crime as international terrorism, which is motivated not by profit, but by political or religious ideology. Based on this approach to the definition of transnational organized crime, we can identify some of its types that have most changed criminal behavior as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on politics and the economy: 1. The increasing role of cybercrime; 2. Expansion of the black market for medicines and medical equipment; 3. Expanding the social role of transnational organized crime groups; 4. Reducing the scope of human trafficking, illegal migration, as well as smuggling of drugs and other illegal goods.
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    The Problem of the Definition of Organized Crime
    (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi state university, Faculty of social and political sciences, 2019-06) Kukhianidze, Alexandre; კუხიანიძე, ალექსანდრე
    By nature, organized crime is a complex phenomenon and has legal, economic, psychological, social and political aspects. Consequently, organized crime requires an interdisciplinary approach. Despite the fact, that there are many criminological definitions of organized crime, the political science definition is absent of academic literature and the topic of organized crime in political science is less analyzed. At the same time, politicians (especially in weak democracies) are often involved in scandals, where politics, organized crime and corruption are overlapped. On one hand, any influential mafia style organization seeks to be closely linked to politics and even penetrate into politics. On the other hand, politicians use organized crime for their purposes, for example to falsify elections. But that does not mean that we deal with politically motivated crime. The interest of the mafia style organized crime participation in politics is aimed only to ensure criminal business security and profit growth. It is acknowledged in special literature on organized crime, that a crime can be committed by an organized group that has political and ideological motivation instead of profit. But such type of crime is not given the qualification of an organized crime, which is not logical and harmful in practical terms. For example, the Nuremberg process of 1945-46, have recognized the Nazi leaders as international criminals - not as the prisoners of war - and the Nazi organizations were recognized as criminal organizations. The definition of organized crime is of theoretical and practical importance. On one hand, it defines the quality and direction of research, and on the other hand, security, prosecution, and investigation in a country. Usually, most definitions consider organized crime as profit motivated criminal organizations such as the Sicilian Mafia, Ndrangetta, Camorra, Cacra Corona Unita, Triads, Yakuza, Mexican Cartels, Colombian Mafia, Outlaw Motorcycle Club “Hells Angels”, Institute of Thieves in Law, etc. As a result, politically motivated crimes, which are committed by leaders of radical and extremist political parties or terrorist organizations are not qualified as forms of organized crime, and in many cases it has practical consequences when the arrested politicians and terrorist activists position themselves not as criminals but as fighters for justice. In this presentation the author divides organized crime in two classes – professional organized crime and political organized crime. The first one represents the Mafia style profit oriented criminal activities and the second one – politically motivated crimes which are committed by leaders and members of political parties, states or terrorist organizations. An analytical review of different definitions of organized crime in academic publications and by international organizations is given in the presentation.