Title: Transnational threats | Britannica
Headings: Transnational threats
Transnational threats
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Content: From the 1990s, the al-Qaeda network spawned cells operating in dozens of countries, with al-Qaeda leaders communicating to followers through e-mail and social networks as well as through audio and video recordings distributed via the Internet. The group also became adept in the online transfer of funds from secure bank accounts to operatives worldwide. Before the advent of computers and digital technology, such coordination and global organization were difficult, if not impossible. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now
The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing economic crisis in eastern Europe and the post-Soviet states contributed significantly to the increasing number of transnational threats by creating an atmosphere in which organized crime flourished. The Russian mafia, virtually unknown in the West before 1991, quickly became a scourge of European and U.S. law-enforcement agencies. From the late 1990s, the Russian mob dealt heavily in financial fraud, human trafficking, and murder for hire on a global scale. Economic uncertainty in the wake of the Soviet collapse also raised the possibility that chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of terrorists or rogue states. In many former Soviet republics, the materials used in the construction of nuclear weapons were poorly guarded and monitored, and parts of the stockpiles of nuclear materials remained unaccounted for. To counter such threats, countries have increased cooperation, especially in the fields of law enforcement and intelligence, in which the sharing of information between countries can help track terrorists and organized-crime groups.