Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

‘Are the ‘others’ coming?’: Evidence on ‘alien conspiracy’ from three illegal markets in Greece

  • Published:
Crime, Law and Social Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the early 1990s Greece accepted a large number of immigrants from a variety of contexts. Since then ‘organised criminality’ has become an important aspect of the immigration nexus in the country, and ethnicity has been viewed as an extremely important-if not the primary–explanatory variable. Simultaneously, there has been very little empirical research on ‘organised crime’ in Greece in general and ‘organised crime’ and ethnicity in particular. The purpose of this article, which is based on previous research that the author has conducted on three illegal markets in Greece (a. migrant smuggling business, b. the cigarette black market, and c. the market of stolen cars and car parts), is to show the extent to which these illegal markets are controlled by foreign nationals, and establish whether there is such thing as an ‘alien conspiracy’ in the particular country.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. This is the number of foreigners as opposed to immigrants from specific countries that are subjected to criminalising processes (e.g. non EU Europeans such as Albanians). The term foreigners includes individuals who are immigrants and non-immigrant foreigners who, for instance, come from European Union member states.

  2. Despite the fact that what is perceived as ‘organised crime’ does not only involve illegal markets (see, for instance, [59]).

  3. In 2007 the Ministry of Public Order was merged with the Ministry for the Interior.

  4. According to Law 2928 on ‘Organised Crime’, which was introduced in 2001 and was heavily influenced by international efforts to ‘combat organised crime’ such as the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime, a ‘criminal organisation’ is a structured and with continuous action group comprising of three or more members.

  5. I owe this point to Klaus von Lampe.

References

  1. Albanese, J. (2004). Organized Crime in Our Times. Cincinnati, OH: Lexis Nexis Anderson.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Antonopoulos, G. A. (2006). Public reporting of criminal activities to the police in greece: is there a difference when the offender is migrant? European Journal of Crime Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 14(2), 135–160. doi:10.1163/157181706777978775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Antonopoulos, G. A. (2006). Greece: policing racist violence in the fenceless vineyard? Race & Class, 48(2), 92–100. doi:10.1177/0306396806069526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Antonopoulos, G. A. (2007). Car Theft and Trafficking in Greece. Presentation at the Criminology/Sociology/Youth Studies section research seminar series 2007/08. Middlesbrough: University of Teesside. 12(December).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Antonopoulos, G. A. (2008). The Greek connection(s): the social organisation of the cigarette smuggling business in Greece. European Journal of Criminology, 5(3), 263–288. doi:10.1177/1477370808090832.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Antonopoulos, G. A., & Winterdyk, J. A. (2006). The smuggling of migrants in Greece: an examination of its social organisation. European Journal of Criminology, 3(4), 439–461. doi:10.1177/1477370806067912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Beare, M. (2003). Organised corporate criminality: corporate complicity in tobacco smuggling. In M. E. Beare (Ed.), Critical Reflection on Transnational Organised Crime, Money Laundering, and Corruption, pp. 183–206. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Beare, M., & Naylor, R. T. (1999). Major Issues Relating to Organised Crime: Within the Context of Economic Relationships. <http://www.ncjrs.gov/nathanson/organised.html> retrieved April 12, 2007

  9. Bell, D. (1953). Crime as an American way of life. The Antioch Review, 13, 131–154.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Block, A. A. (1994). Space, Time, and Organized Crime (2nd ed.). New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Block, A. A., & Chambliss, W. J. (1981). Organizing Crime. New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bovenkerk, F. (2001). Organized crime and ethnic minorities: is there a link? In P. Williams & D. Vlassis (Eds.), Combating Transnational Crime: Concepts, Activities and Responses, pp. 109–126. London: Frank Cass Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Bovenkerk, F., Siegel, D., & Zaitch, D. (2003). Organised crime and ethnic reputation manipulation. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 39, 23–38. doi:10.1023/A:1022499504945.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Cressey, D. R. (1969). Theft of the Nation. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Customs Authority (2006). Cigarette Smuggling in Greece, 2004 & 2005. Unpublished statistics.

  16. Edwards, A., & Gill, P. (2002). Crime as enterprise? The case of transnational organised crime. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 37, 202–223. doi:10.1023/A:1015025509582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. ESYE (2001) Census 2001. <http://www.statistics.gr> retrieved on March 15, 2004.

  18. Fishman, M. (1978). Crime waves as ideology. Social Problems, 25, 531–543. doi:10.1525/sp. 1978.25.5.03a00080.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Gardikas, K. (1958). Eglimatologia. Athens: Delagrammatikas.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Hatsios, G., & Kantouris, K. (1999). Perase stin Alvania o Kakopios me tous Omirous. Ta Nea, 29(May), 28.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hellenic Coast Guard (2005) Cigarette Smuggling. Unpublished statistics

  23. Hobbs, D. (1988). Doing the Business: Entrepreneurship, the Working Class, and Detectives in the East End of London. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Hobbs, D. (1997). Criminal collaboration: youth gangs, subcultures, professional criminals, and organized crime. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan & R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (2nd ed.), pp. 801–840. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hobbs, D. (2004). The nature and representation of organised crime in the United Kingdom. In C. Fijnaut & L. Paoli (Eds.), Organised Crime in Europe: Concepts, Patterns and Control Policies in the European Union and Beyond, pp. 413–434. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Karydis, V. (1996). I Eglimatikotita ton Metanaston stin Ellada: Zitimata Theorias kai Anteglimatikis Politikis. Athens: Papazisis.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Kolonas, C. (2008). O Mavros Tziros ton € 5 Dis ton Chrono Apeilei tin Oikonomia. Ethnos, 25(August), 34–35.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Konstantinidou, C. (1999). I Eglimatikotita ton Alvanon Metanaston ston Athinaiko Typo. In A. Koukoutsaki (Ed.), Eikones Eglimatos, pp. 103–141. Athens: Plethron.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Lambropoulou, E. (2003). Criminal organisations in Greece and public policy: from non-real to hyper-real? International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 31, 69–87. doi:10.1016/S0194-6595(03)00002-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Levi, M., & Naylor, T. (2000). Organised crime, the organisation of crime, and the organisation of business. DTI Crime Foresight Panel Essay

  31. Mahan, S. (1998). Beyond the Mafia: Organized Crime in the Americas. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  32. MPO. (2000). Etisia Ekthesi gia to Organomeno Eglima stin Ellada, Etous 1999. Athens: MPO.

    Google Scholar 

  33. MPO. (2005). Etisia Ekthesi gia to Organomeno Eglima stin Ellada, Etous 2004. Athens: MPO.

    Google Scholar 

  34. MPO. (2006). Etisia Ekthesi Perigrafis gia to Organomeno Eglima stin Ellada, Etous 2005. Athens: MPO.

    Google Scholar 

  35. MPO (2007) Sygritika Statistika Stihia Eglimatikotitas kai Narkotikon stin Epikratia (1991–2006), <http://www.ydt.gr> retrieved on July 10, 2007

  36. Naylor, R. T. (2003). Towards a general theory of profit-driven crimes. The British Journal of Criminology, 43, 81–101. doi:10.1093/bjc/43.1.81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Naylor, R. T. (2004). Wages of Crime: Black Markets, Illegal Finance and the Underworld Economy (Revisedth ed.). New York: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Paoli, L., & Reuter, P. (2008). Drug trafficking and ethnic minorities in Western Europe. European Journal of Criminology, 5(1), 13–37. doi:10.1177/1477370807084223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Passas, N. (2002). Cross-border crime and the interface between legal and illegal actors. In P. C. van Duyne, K. von Lampe & N. Passas (Eds.), Upperworld and Underworld in Cross-Border Crime, pp. 11–41. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Passas, N., & Nelken, D. (1993). The thin line between legitimate and criminal enterprises: subsidy frauds in the European community. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 19, 223–243. doi:10.1007/BF01844060.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Pearson, G., & Hobbs, D. (2001). Middle Market Drug Distribution. Home Office Research Study 227 London: Home Office.

  42. Potter, G. W. (1994). Criminal Organizations: Vice, Racketeering and Politics in an American City. Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Psimmenos, I. (2001). Nea Ergasia kai Anepisimoi Metanastes stin Metropolitiki Athina. In A. Marvakis, D. Parsanoglou & M. Pavlou (Eds.), Metanastes stin Ellada, pp. 95–126. Athens: Ellinika Grammata.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Reuter, P. (1983). Disorganised Crime. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Schelling, T. C. (1971). What is the business of organized crime? Journal of Public Law, 20, 71–84.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Smith, D. (1975). The Mafia Mystique. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Task Force on Organized Crime. (1967). The Task Force Report: Organized Crime. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Taylor, I., & Jamieson, R. (1999). Sex trafficking and the mainstream of a market culture: challenges to organized crime analysis. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 32, 257–278. doi:10.1023/A:1008302724190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Trigazis, D. (2002). I Organosi tis Ellinikis Astynomias gia tin Pataksi tou Organomenou Eglimatos. Unpublished report.

  50. van Amersfoort, H. (1978). Minority as a sociological concept. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1(2), 218–234.

    Google Scholar 

  51. van Duyne, P. C. (1993). Organized crime and business crime-enterprises in the Netherlands. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 19, 103–142. doi:10.1007/BF01915552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. van Duyne, P. C. (2003). The creation of a threat image: media, policy making and organized crime. In P. C. van Duyne, M. Jager, K. von Lampe & J. L. Newell (Eds.), Threats and Phantoms of Organised Crime, Corruption and Terrorism: Rhetoric and Critical Perspectives, pp. 21–50. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  53. van Duyne, P. C. (2003). Organising cigarette smuggling and policy making, ending up in smoke. Crime, Law and Social Change, 39, 285–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. van Duyne, P. C. (2007). The upperworld side of illicit trafficking. Crime & Justice International, November/December, pp.46–47

  55. von Lampe, K. (2001). Not a process of enlightenment: the conceptual history of organized crime in Germany and the United States of America. Forum on Crime and Society, 1(2), 99–116.

    Google Scholar 

  56. von Lampe, K. (2001b). The Illegal Cigarette Market in Germany: A Case Study of Organised Crime. Lausanne, Switzerland: Paper presented at the 1st annual meeting of the European Society of Criminology. 6 September.

    Google Scholar 

  57. von Lampe, K. (2004). Making the second step before the first: assessing organised crime, the case of Germany. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 42, 227–259. doi:10.1007/s10611-005-5305-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. von Lampe, K. (2005). Provisional Situational Report on Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes. Sixth Framework Programme.

  59. von Lampe, K. (2008). Organized crime in Europe : conceptions and Realities, Policing. Journal of Policy Practice, 2(1), 7–17.

    Google Scholar 

  60. Woodiwiss, M. (2001). Organised Power and American Power. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  61. Xenakis, S. (2006). International norm diffusion and organised crime policy: the case of Greece. Global Crime, 6(3&4), 345–373.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Frank Bovenkerk, Klaus von Lampe, Georgios Papanicolaou, Nikos Passas and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and constructive feedback on earlier drafts of this article. The research on the trafficking of stolen cars and car parts in Greece was supported by a University Research Fund (URF) from the University of Teesside.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, UK

    Georgios A. Antonopoulos

Authors
  1. Georgios A. Antonopoulos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Georgios A. Antonopoulos.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Antonopoulos, G.A. ‘Are the ‘others’ coming?’: Evidence on ‘alien conspiracy’ from three illegal markets in Greece. Crime Law Soc Change 52, 475–493 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-009-9204-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-009-9204-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation