Terrorism and Organized Crime - Essay Example

Terrorism and Organized Crime Lecturer Terrorism and Organized Crime Terrorism is defined as the illegal utilization of force by a person or group against other people or their property with the aim of intimidating or forcing a given government to perpetuate particular social or political aims, and it can either be domestic or international. Organized crime is defined as a group of individuals characterized by the international or national organizations with centralized operations of unlawful activity and with a higher need to make pecuniary profit (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014).

Terrorism and organized crime are more or less one and the same thing. This is because both are compartmentalized and with an organized structure. Both of them are involved in the illegal movement of people, goods, money or weapons from one place to another either within juridical borders or across them under the same conditions. The beginnings of terrorism and organized crime are more or less the same because the groups/organizations begin by their internal trading among each other. Further, after the groups start trading together they tend to work together toward each other’s goals which involve perpetration of unlawful acts.

Basically, the difference between terrorism and organized crime depends on their means and ends as well. In the recent past, terrorism and organized crime were two distinct entities, but presently, they have undergone transformation and are hard to distinguish. The reason is because of the changing global economy as well as political alignments because particular individuals derive benefits from both activities. At the same time, political decline and poor economic circumstances have helped both terrorism and organized crime persist because individuals get income from such activities which is impossible if they were not employed at all.

ReferenceFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), (2014). Terrorism and organized crime. Retrieved from on April, 2014.