Organized Crime and Corruption in Georgia: 02 (Routledge Transnational Crime and Corruption)

Georgia is one of the most corrupt and crime-ridden nations of the former Soviet Union. In the Soviet period, Georgians played a major role in organized crime groups and the shadow economy operating throughout the Soviet Union, and in the post-Soviet period, Georgia continues to be important source of international crime and corruption. Important changes have been made since the Rose Revolution in Georgia to address the organized crime and pervasive corruption.

This book, based on extensive original research, surveys the most enduring aspects of organized crime and corruption in Georgia and the most important reforms since the Rose Revolution. Endemic crime and corruption had a devastating effect on government and everyday life in Georgia, spurring widespread popular discontent that culminated with the Rose Revolution in 2003. Some of the hopes of the Rose Revolution have been realized, though major challenges lie ahead as Georgia confronts deep-seated crime and corruption issues that will remain central to political, economic, and social life in the years to come.

Louise Shelley is a Professor in the School of International Service of American University. She is the founder and director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center. She specializes in transnational crime, the relationship between terrorism and transnational crime, human trafficking and smuggling. Her particular regional focus is the former Soviet Union. She is the author of Policing Soviet Society (Routledge, 1996), and has published numerous articles and book chapters on different aspects of crime, corruption and terrorism.

Erik R. Scott is a Ph.D. student in History at the University of California, Berkeley. He has travelled extensively in the Caucasus, and from 2002 to 2004 managed the Transnational Crime and Corruption Center's programs in Georgia. He is the author of several articles on Georgia and Russian-Georgian relations.

Anthony Latta has worked at the Transnational Crime and Corruption Center since August 2005. He has an MA from American University, with a focus in international economics and transnational crime. Before coming to AU and TraCCC, he worked as the economics editor at The Moscow News.