Are modern democracies threatened by organized crime? Organized crime has evolved alongside capitalism, remaining one step ahead in order to profit from new and often transnational economic opportunities. It challenges social and political structures yet its strategies are strongly conditioned by the political institutions and the specific type of civil society in which they appear. This innovative volume examines the relationship between organized crime and the state, civil society and politics, and assesses the consequences and impact of organized crime on democracy. It contains chapters on the United States, Japan, Russia, South America, France, Italy and the European Union.