The Mafia and Organized Crime: A Beginner’s Guide (Oneworld Beginner’s Guides)

Cover......Page 1
Series......Page 3
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Foreword......Page 9
In the beginning......Page 16
The problem of definition......Page 18
Background......Page 19
Why is definition important?......Page 24
According to the law......Page 25
Building the knowledge base......Page 28
Organized crime and the mafia: same or different?......Page 31
Organized crime and criminal organizations......Page 34
Organized crime versus crime that is organized......Page 36
Harm......Page 39
Transnational organized crime: the new menace......Page 42
2. Truth, fiction and myth – the role of popular culture......Page 45
From The Godfather to The Sopranos......Page 55
What is the appeal?......Page 62
Gangsta rap......Page 63
Cultural resistance to the mafia......Page 64
Myths, organized crime, and the mafia......Page 67
Theory and explanation......Page 71
Alien and other conspiracies......Page 72
Cultural climates for organized crime......Page 75
Ethnicity and ethnic succession......Page 79
Implications for the who, how, and what of organized crime......Page 86
Rational choice, routine activities, and situational crime prevention......Page 89
La Cosa Nostra......Page 99
Urban street gangs......Page 103
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs/One percent biker clubs......Page 108
The Russian “Mafiya”......Page 111
The Japanese yakuza......Page 116
Chinese “Mafia”......Page 119
Colombian drug cartels, guerillas and paramilitaries......Page 125
5. Organized crime is what organized crime does......Page 129
Profiting from the illegality of the otherwise legal......Page 130
Organized crime exploits sin......Page 136
Drug trafficking – the king of the hill......Page 141
Predatory crime......Page 146
Vulnerabilities and potential markets......Page 153
6. An evil business: the traffic in people......Page 156
The terminology......Page 158
The problem of human trafficking......Page 162
Why human trafficking?......Page 166
Who are the traffickers – organized crime or crime that is organized?......Page 170
The role of corruption......Page 176
Combating the problem......Page 183
7. Confronting the enemy......Page 186
The anti-organized crime tool-kit......Page 189
International efforts against organized crime......Page 200
Legalizing or decriminalizing the activities of organized crime......Page 202
Rooting out organized crime......Page 205
Appendix: books and films......Page 208
American Mafia or La Cosa Nostra......Page 211
Businesses of organized crime......Page 212
Chinese Mafia......Page 213
General......Page 214
Human trafficking......Page 215
Japanese Yakuza......Page 217
Other......Page 218
Theory and explanation......Page 219
A-B......Page 221
C......Page 222
D......Page 223
E-F......Page 224
G......Page 225
H-I......Page 226
J-K-L......Page 227
M......Page 228
N-O......Page 229
P......Page 230
Q-R......Page 231
S......Page 232
T......Page 233
U-V......Page 234
W-Y-Z......Page 235