Threat Convergence: Transnational Organized Crime and Canadian State Adaptation in the New International Security Context

Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) is a policing problem only at the most fundamental level. It has now evolved to become a problem of international relations, international political economy, international security, and even international finance. It has become a pervasive global force that sends its ripple effects through virtually every country. In countries less resilient than Canada, these effects can become profoundly destabilizing, rising to levels where state failure becomes a viable potentiality, if state capture does not happen first. State adaptation to meet this reality is therefore increasingly imperative. In Canada, TOC has been conceptualized primarily as a problem for police and the justice system to handle, but its effects on our society, our political economy, and our international reputation extend well beyond the capacity of the police, the courts, and the corrections system to mitigate.