Organized crime and ethnic reputation manipulation

Criminologists often use culture andethnicity to explain crime. In thistradition, organized crime is presentedwith an exotic flavor and the list oftransnational criminal organizations readslike an inventory of ethnic minorities andforeign groups. But the relation betweenethnicity and organized crime isproblematic to say the least. In the courseof our research on several groups active inthe Netherlands (Turkish and Kurdish heroindealers, Yugoslav and Russian-speaking mafiosi, Colombian cocaine dealers andNigerian prostitutes), we have learned toreverse the assumed causal relationship.Ethnic reputation manipulation is essentialto committing crime. This article arguesthat criminal groups and individualsexploit and construct ethnicity in variousways as they engage in criminal activities.Either concealing or emphasizing specificethnic reputations, they are able toaddress any number of audiences (insiders,outsiders, the law).     

Organized crime, corruption and power

The perception of organised crime as an external threat to political stability and integrity, as well as to orthodox commercial activity, is based on an assumption about the motives and intentions of organised criminals. It invariably results in a call for a war against crime. The reality and the possible solutions are less dramatic but also more complex. Organised criminals are concerned with both legal and illegal businesses where bribery of public officials and involvement with orthodox commercial activity are part of that business. While organised criminals may want to enjoy the profits of their business rather than subvert societies what they do and how they do it can have adverse consequences for societies and should be addressed. In seeking to do this, however, it is necessary not only to analyse threats to target resources more effectively but also discourage those public figures and orthodox businesses whose enthusiasm for short-term benefit overrides their moral judgement and thus allows organised crime to be tolerated within the societies to which they are supposed to be an external threat.     

Organized crime and instability in Central Africa

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Organized crime and instability in Central Africa Cannabis from the DRC to the region     

Organized crime: A social network approach

This article applies the anthropological approach of social networktheory to the study of organized crime in its local, domestic and transnational contexts. It argues that a social network approach transcends existing criminological paradigms like organizational, patron-client and enterprise theories in that it emphasizes a common supposition held by each paradigm – that human relationships form the basis for organized criminal activity. By understanding the dynamics behind these relationships and the networks they create, one can subsequently gain a clearer picture of organized criminalactivity across time, space and culture.     

Organized crime and the business of migrant trafficking

The trafficking of migrants around the world hasbecome a multi-billion-dollar business for criminalorganisations. Over the last ten years, thousands ofmigrants have been moved illegally acrossinternational borders with the assistance ofprofessional trafficking organisations.The increasing number of people forced or willing tomove abroad as well as the restrictions placed onlegitimate migration systems have translated intoorganized crime. Around the world, traffickingorganisations have learned to take advantage of thisstructural inequality, creating sophisticated channelsof illegal migration while exploiting those forced orwilling to migrate.This article seeks to examine traffickingorganisations in light of the most recent theories andinterpretations of organized crime, that is theeconomic analysis of transnational criminalorganisations. With respect to the elaboration offuture countermeasures on national, regional andinternational levels, the aim of this article is toidentify more precisely the major organisational andoperational features of the migrant traffickingbusiness.The article begins with an introductory discussion ofthe economic approach to organized crime in part 1.Part 2 analyses the illegal market in which criminalorganisations, in particular traffickers, operate.This provides the working basis for the examination ofthe migrant trafficking organisation in part 3 of thearticle.     

Organized crime and the political-criminal nexus in China

The research goals of this study, undertaken on behalf of the National Strategy Information Center (NSIC), were to describe the evolution of the political-criminal nexus (PCN) in China and predict its development, examine the causes and patterns of PCN in China, assess the anticipated threats of Chinese PCN, and identify options for external factors—inside and outside government—to weaken PCN in China. The researchers used a variety of techniques as part of an overall exploratory methodology, including interviews and field observations in three Chinese provinces. Key informants included law enforcement officers, government officials, scholars, prosecutors, judges, businessmen, and underworld figures. Interviews and site visits were supplemented with the review of a large collection of English and Chinese literature on the subject. The major findings are (1) in China, PCN is primarily a nexus between gangsters and low- and mid-level government officials from the criminal justice system; (2) the Chinese government is concerned with the problem of PCN mainly because it is eroding the authority of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and not because of the threat of organized gangs to social and economic stability; (3) organized crime in China is going to be a local problem for many towns and cities in the foreseeable future; (4) reasons for the development of PCN in China could be categorized as economic, structural, social/cultural, and psychological/ideological and the impact of PCN could be categorized as social, economic, and political; and (5) several options exist for external governmental and nongovernmental measures to curb or at least control PCN in China, including research, education, and judicial reform.     

Organized crime in Ukraine: Challenge and response

Organized crime in Ukraine has helped to derail the transition to a democratic polity and a free market economy, has generated considerable violence and corruption, and has contributed significantly to the development of a climate that does little to encourage foreign direct investment. Consequently this article explains why Ukraine, along with other states of the Former Soviet Union, developed a major organized crime problem during the 1990s. Having done this, it delineates some of the major contours of organized crime in Ukraine, identifying the major participants in organized crime, the variations in the phenomenon in different cities and regions, and the major activities of organized crime. The article also examines the kinds of initiatives that have been taken by the government of Ukraine in its efforts to combat organized crime, before suggesting some areas in which these efforts could be significantly improved.     

Organized crime and the theft of Iraqi antiquities

Amid the chaos following the downfall of Saddam Hussein, thousands of treasured artifacts from Iraq’s museums and ruins disappeared. Many were trafficked out of the country and into auction houses in the West. This occurrence highlights the often-overlooked role of organized criminal networks in the collection, smuggling, and sale of illicit antiquities. By taking advantage of the breakdown in social order that surrounded the U.S.-led invasion in {dy2003}, criminals were able to profit from Iraq’s heritage and deprive its people of their past. This report examines the looting of Iraqi museums and archaeological during the fighting of 2003. Details of the antiquities theft that accompanied the chaotic aftermath of that conflict are investigated for signs of infiltration by organized criminal actors. In addition, the role of organized crime in the international trade in illicit antiquities is examined to shed further light on this obscure aspect of international criminal activity. Finally, the international response is evaluated to determine its effectiveness in combating both the theft of Iraq’s archaeological treasures and the increasing power of criminal actors in the country.