Historical Perspectives On Organised Crime And Terrorism

In recent years, in the context of the War on Terror and globalization, there has been an increased interest in terrorism and organized crime in academia, yet historical research into such phenomena is relatively scarce. This book resets the balance and emphasizes the importance of historical research to understanding terrorism and organized crime. This book explores historical accounts of organized crime and terrorism, drawing on research from around the world in such areas as the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Colombia, Somalia, Burma, Turkey and Trinidad and Tobago. Combining key case studies with fresh conceptualizations of organized crime and terrorism, this book reinvigorates scholarship by comparing and contrasting different historical accounts and considering their overlaps. Critical ‘lessons learned’ are drawn out from each chapter, providing valuable insights for current policy, practice and scholarship. This book is an indispensable guide for understanding the wider history of terrorism and organized crime. It maps key historical changes and trends in this area and underlines the vital importance of history in understanding critical contemporary issues. Taking an interdisciplinary approach and written by leading criminologists, historians and political scientists, this book will be of particular interest to students of terrorism/counter-terrorism, organized crime, drug policy, criminology, security studies, politics, international relations, sociology and history.

In recent years, in the context of the War on Terror and globalization, there has been an increased interest in terrorism and organized crime in academia, yet historical research into such phenomena is relatively scarce. This book resets the balance and emphasizes the importance of historical research to understanding terrorism and organized crime. This book explores historical accounts of organized crime and terrorism, drawing on research from around the world in such areas as the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Colombia, Somalia, Burma, Turkey and Trinidad and Tobago. Combining key case studies with fresh conceptualizations of organized crime and terrorism, this book reinvigorates scholarship by comparing and contrasting different historical accounts and considering their overlaps. Critical ¿lessons learned¿ are drawn out from each chapter, providing valuable insights for current policy, practice and scholarship. This book is an indispensable guide for understanding the wider history of terrorism and organized crime. It maps key historical changes and trends in this area and underlines the vital importance of history in understanding critical contemporary issues. Taking an interdisciplinary approach and written by leading criminologists, historians and political scientists, this book will be of particular interest to students of terrorism/counter-terrorism, organized crime, drug policy, criminology, security studies, politics, international relations, sociology and history.

This book is a comparative study of organized crime groups from five different parts of the world: Europe; North America; Central America/South America/Caribbean basin; Africa; and Asia/Western Pacific. Each part contains two case studies and a shorter essay, a vignette. From Europe the case studies focus on the Italian mafias and the Russian mafia; the vignette, on the Albanian mafia. From North America the case studies highlight the US Mafia and the Mexican drug cartels; the vignette, organized crime in Canada. From Central America/South America/Caribbean basin the case studies concentrate on the Colombian drug cartels and gangs of the Caribbean; the vignette, on organized crime in Cuba. From Africa the case studies examine resource wars and Somali piracy; the vignette, relations among international drugs trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism in North and West Africa. And from Asia/Western Pacific the case studies spotlight the Chinese Triads and Japanese Yakuza; the vignette, relations among international drugs trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism in Afghanistan. Written in non-specialist language, An Economic History of Organized Crime provides an original overview of a crucial problem of our times: the growing scourge of global organized crime. This book can be read with profit by the general public, but it also has value for academic specialists and professionals in law enforcement.

Readers not only gain knowledge concerning the development of organized groups in the United States, but within international boundaries as well. Each group is viewed historically, territorially, economically, and politically in an effort to provide a complete package of all international groups. Each chapter also explores law enforcement inititatives, including history, legislation, and success rate, as well as a discussion of the corruption of authority where applicable. In depth analysis of La Cosa Nostras./Total anaylsis of street organized crime gangs and lack of police response./View of terrorist groups as organized crime narco/terrorists gangs, IRA, Arab groups, etc./Complete anaylsis and review of all ethnic and racial organized crime groups./All chapters include historical backgrounds on all groups. This book would be helpful in the training of members of the law enforcement and/or military community who deal with organized crime groups. It would give the average law enforcement/military officer a more than sufficient amount of information regarding the ongoing, past and present, operations of all organized crime worldwide. Helping them identify gang members in and out of the officer's work environment, making the officers aware of the criminal activities of these groups and how to identify a crime these groups might have committed.

Part I analyzes the public's perception of organized crime, discusses common myths, describes the most important attributes, addresses issues related to definition, and provides an in-depth look at contemporary global criminal enterprises. Part II is a history of organized crime in the United States from colonial America to the present day. It includes descriptions of the principal enterprises, of how American organized crooks operate, stresses the evolving nature of the phenomenon and discusses the integral part played by political and economic elites. Part III focuses on theoretical issues, describes the sociological foundation, the development of organized crime theories and major organized crime paradigms.

Contributors offer a wide range of challenges to commonly-held views on transnational crime and approaches to fighting it, suggesting that current international policies follow an American model that exaggerates its threat out of proportion.

This handbook explores organized crime, which it divides into two main concepts and types: the first is a set of stable organizations illegal per se or whose members systematically engage in crime, and the second is a set of serious criminal activities that are typically carried out for monetary gain.

This unique volume collects articles and contributions to edited books published throughout his distinguished career by Professor Cyrille Fijnaut, one of the world's leading experts in the fields of organised crime, security and criminology. It makes clear what issues the author systematically explored over the years and how he helped to shape the fields in which he has worked, and continues to work. The texts, reflecting the author's profound understanding of these complex fields and wealth of experience on a practical level, are presented systematically. In addition, the volume offers English translations of seminal articles published originally in Dutch, thus making these important texts accessible to international scholars for the first time ever. The volume thus constitutes a unique and indispensable resource for scholars and practitioners, inside and outside the Netherlands.