Abstract
Criminal organization is dependent on context, place, and time. However, in the study of organized crime, criminal organization is often conceptualized without a wider view on the context within which opportunities for criminal activities arise and in which criminal networks develop that take advantage of these opportunities. Historical research teaches us a lot about these opportunities and how criminal networks may evolve, during various periods in history within varying contexts. In this chapter, the author reviews some major theoretical notions about criminal organization: protection theory, the bureaucracy model, illegal enterprise theory, criminal networks, and situational approaches. Furthermore, the author discusses how the historical chapters in this volume provide valuable insights into the topic of criminal organization.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The first part of this chapter is based upon my more extensive review of several theoretical perspectives on organized crime (Kleemans 2014).
References
Albini, J. L. (1971). The American mafia: Genesis of a legend. New York: Appleton.
Block, A. A., & Chambliss, W. J. (1981). Organizing crime. New York: Elsevier.
Bullock, K., Clarke, R. V., & Laycock, G. (Eds.). (2010). Situational prevention of organised crimes. Cullompton: Willan Publishing.
Burt, R. S. (1992). Structural holes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Burt, R. S. (2005). Brokerage and closure: An introduction to social capital. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Buskens, V., & Raub, W. (2012). Rational choice research on social dilemmas: Embeddedness effects on trust. In R. Wittek, T. A. B. Snijders, & V. Nee (Eds.), Handbook of rational choice research (pp. 113–150). Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Carrington, P. (2011). Crime and social network analysis. In J. Scott & P. J. Carrington (Eds.), Sage handbook of social network analysis. London: Sage.
Chambliss, W. J. (1978). On the take: From petty crooks to presidents. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Cornish, D. B., & Clarke, R. V. (2002). Analyzing organized crimes. In A. R. Piquero & S. G. Tibbetts (Eds.), Rational choice and criminal behavior: Recent research and future challenges. New York: Garland.
Cressey, D. R. (1969). Theft of the nation: The structure and operations of organized crime in America. New York: Harper & Row.
Feld, S. L. (1981). The focused organization of social ties. American Journal of Sociology, 86(5), 1015–1035.
Felson, M. (2006). Crime and nature. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Gambetta, D. (1993). The Sicilian mafia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 481–510.
Huisman, W., & Kleemans, E. R. (2014). The challenges of fighting sex trafficking in the legalized prostitution market of the Netherlands. Crime, Law and Social Change, 61(2), 215–228.
Ianni, F. A. J., & Reuss-Ianni, E. (1972). A family business: Kinship and social control in organized crime. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Jacobs, J. B. (1999). Gotham unbound: How New York city was liberated from the grip of organized crime. New York: New York University Press.
Jacobs, J. B., & Peters, E. (2003). Labor racketeering: The mafia and the unions. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and justice. A review of research (Vol. 30, pp. 229–282). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Kleemans, E. R. (2007). Organized crime, transit crime, and racketeering. In M. Tonry & C. Bijleveld (Eds.), Crime and justice in the Netherlands. Crime and justice. A review of research (Vol. 35, pp. 163–215). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Kleemans, E. R., & van de Bunt, H. G. (2008). Organised crime, occupations and opportunity. Global Crime, 9(3), 185–197.
Kleemans, E. R. (2009). Human smuggling and human trafficking. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Oxford handbook on crime and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kleemans, E. R. (2013). Organized crime and the visible hand: A theoretical critique on the economic analysis of organized crime. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 13(5), 615–629.
Kleemans, E. R. (2014). Theoretical perspectives on organized crime. In L. Paoli (Ed.), Oxford handbook of organized crime (pp. 32–52). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kleemans, E. R., & van de Bunt, H. G. (1999). The social embeddedness of organized crime. Transnational Organized Crime, 5(1), 19–36.
Kleemans, E. R., Soudijn, M. R. J, & Weenink, A. W. (2012). Organized crime, situational crime prevention and routine activity. Trends in Organized Crime, 15(2–3), 87–92.
Morselli, C. (2009). Inside criminal networks. New York: Springer.
Paoli, L. (2003). Mafia brotherhoods: Organized crime, Italian style. New York: Oxford University Press.
Paoli, L., Greenfield, V. A., & Reuter, P. (2009). The world supply of heroin: Can supply be cut? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reuter, P. (1983). Disorganized crime: Illegal markets and the mafia. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Schelling, T. (1965). Economics and criminal enterprise. Public Interest, 7, 61–78.
Smith, D. C., Jr. (1975). The mafia mystique. New York: Basic Books.
Sykes, G. M., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22(6), 664–670.
Van Duyne, P. C. (1993). Organized crime markets in a turbulent Europe. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 1(3), 10–30.
Varese, F. (2001). The Russian mafia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Varese, F. (2011). Mafias on the move. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Verhoeven, M., van Gestel, B., de Jong, D., & Kleemans, E. R. (2015). Relationships between suspects and victims of sex trafficking. Exploitationof prostitutes and domestic violence parallels in Dutch trafficking cases. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research. (forthcoming/online first).
Von Lampe, K. (2006). The interdisciplinary dimensions of the study of organized crime. Trends in Organized Crime, 9(3), 77–95.
Von Lampe, K. (2011). The application of the framework of situational crime prevention to “organized crime”. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 11(2), 145–163.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kleemans, E. (2015). Criminal Organization and Transnational Crime. In: Bruinsma, G. (eds) Histories of Transnational Crime. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2471-4_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2471-4_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2470-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2471-4
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)