Historical Perspectives on Organized Crime and Terrorism by Windle, James; Morrison, John; Winter, Aaron;

Short description:

This book explores historical accounts of organised crime and terrorism, drawing on research from around the world in such areas as the USA, UK, Ireland, France, Colombia, Somalia, Burma, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Long description:

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.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction: Hawking the historical method in organised crime and terrorism studies, James Windle, John F. Morrison, Aaron Winter and Andrew Silke. Organised Crime.  2. ‘A citadel of crime’: Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the O’Connor System, James A. Densley  3. The causes of traditional organized crime: Comparing Chicago and New York, Robert M Lombardo  4. The French Connection: A brief critical history, Ryan Gingeras  5. 'He just wasn’t the bloke I used to know': Social capital and the fragmentation of a British organised crime network, James Windle.  Terrorism.  6. 1975: The truce that changed the Troubles, John F. Morrison  7. The Klan is history: A historical perspective on the revival of the far-right in ‘post-racial’ America, Aaron Winter.  Terrorism and organised crime?  8. Somali maritime predation: Traditional piracy or a new form of terrorism?, Anamika Twyman-Ghoshal  9. Narcoterrorism in Colombia, Francis Gaffney  10. Empire, war, decolonisation and the birth of the illicit opium trade in Burma, 1800-1961, John Collins  11. Jamaat-al-Muslimeen: The blurred lines between organised crime and terrorism in Trinidad and Tobago, Andrew Silke