Transnational organized crime poses a serious threat to the international community. This volume, the product of a UN conference, discusses the dangers of transnational organized crime and identifies forms of regional, national and international co-operation for its prevention and control, including intelligence networks, preventive strategies, extradition treaties, criminalizing participation in criminal organizations and the elaboration of an international convention. The reduction and subsequent containment of transnational organized crime require governments not only to recognize the seriousness of the challenge, but also to allocate resources commensurate with this challenge. The authors warn that should the international community fail to do this, the prospects for democratic government and the rule of law will be gloomy.