01612nas a2200205   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653001500058653002300073653003000096653002900126653001000155653002000165653001400185100001800199245009500217300001000312490000700322520107700329       2016                            d  cSummer 201610acorruption10aillegal formations10ainternational conventions10alaw enforcement agencies10amafia10aOrganized crime10asmuggling1 aNika Chitadze00aGlobal Dimensions of Organized Crime and Ways of Preventing Threats at International Level  a17-320 v153 a<p>The present paper predominantly focuses on the different approaches related to the definition of organized crime, the primary conditions that create a convenient foundation upon which organized crime can develop, the main activities of organized criminal groups, and leading organized criminal formations across the different regions of the world, in particular, the Italian Mafia, the Japanese bōryokudan (Yakuza), Chinese triads, Colombian drug cartels, and Russian criminal organizations (“Russian Mafia”), and so on. The second part of the paper is dedicated to the review of the international experience of fighting against transnational organized crime, particularly with regard to different international conventions and agreements within the nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth century. It also explores this phenomena on a UN-level and with reference to a range of European institutions (the EU, Council of Europe). The concluding section sees an examination of the role of law enforcement agencies in the fight against organized crime.</p>