ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines all the challenges to the future of the Southern Tier and to Russian and Western interests there the "new security threats". It provides a broad-brush overview of the issues with the national security. It also focuses on the nature and extent of corruption and organized crime throughout these societies, both as security challenges in their own right, and as providing the context for the other security challenges that follow. The chapter explores the specific security threats of narcotics trafficking and the potential for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It explains the role of environmental challenges and other challenges, both as catalysts for unrest in and among these countries, and in terms of the very ability of these societies to sustain themselves in the long term. Finally, the chapter explores Western responses to these issues to assess implications for Western policy makers and practitioners.
