The traditional bounded village culture and familial blood ties provide the organizational glue for many organized criminal groups. As these groups extend their networks to countries and cities around the world, however, they remain connected to the "center" through capital, technology, access to multiple identities, rapid transportation, and cross-border mobility. International demand promotes such as activities as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting, illicit trade in stolen goods, pornography, terrorism, and computer-related crime. In addition, loose cross-group alliances are increasingly occurring between different nationally rooted organized criminal groups; for example, Colombians, Italians, Nigerians, and Russians associate in drug enterprises. Transnational organized crime poses a destabilizing threat to weak nations and also threatens global free trade and fair economic competition. The nature of transnational organized crime versus the nation-state is illustrated based on Italian organized criminal activities, terrorism, ethnic and religious nationalism, and drug-related crime. The concept of the nation-state is discussed in relation to the monopoly of power and the development of organized crime. Goals and business advantages of organized crime are considered, a global organized crime typology is described, and actions that need to be taken to counter the threat of transnational organized crime are identified. 50 notes and 5 figures