1st Edition

Studies in Gangs and Cartels

By Robert J. Bunker, John P. Sullivan Copyright 2014
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    Concerns over the changing nature of gangs and cartels and their relationships to states in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has resulted in the emergence of a scholarly body of work focused on their national security threat potentials. This body of work, utilizing the third generation gangs and third phase cartel typologies, represents an alternative to traditional gang and organized crime research and one that is increasingly influencing the US defense community. Rather than being viewed only as misguided youth and opportunistic criminals or, in their mature forms, as criminal organizations with no broader social or political agendas, more evolved gangs and cartels, are instead seen as developing political, mercenary, and state-challenging capacities. This evolutionary process has emerged due to the growing illicit economy and other unintended consequences of globalization.

    This important anthology of writings by Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan draws upon a collection of their works from the mid-1990s to the present with the addition of new essays written specifically for this publication. The work will be of great interest to academics and students in the fields of political science and criminal justice and to military, law enforcement, and governmental professionals and policy makers.

    This book is a collection of new and previously published works from a variety of publications, a full list of which is on the Citation Information page.

    Preface: Criminology vs. National Security Perspectives in Gang and Cartel Analysis Robert J. Bunker  1. Introduction: Third Generation Gangs and Third Phase Cartels John P. Sullivan  SECTION I SOURCE DOCUMENTS  2. The Disaster Within Us: Urban Conflict and Street Gang Violence in Los Angeles  John P. Sullivan and Martin E. Silverstein  3. Street Gangs—Future Paramilitary Groups?  Robert J. Bunker  4. Epochal Change: War Over Social and Political Organization  Robert J. Bunker  5. Third Generation Street Gangs: Turf, Cartels and Netwarriors John P. Sullivan  6. Cartel Evolution: Potentials and Consequences  Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan  SECTION II MATURING PERSPECTIVES  7. Urban Gangs Evolving As Criminal Netwar Actors  John P. Sullivan  8. Drug Cartels, Street Gangs, and Warlords  John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker  9. Terrorism, Crime and Private Armies  John P. Sullivan  10. Maras Morphing: Revisiting Third Generation Gangs  John P. Sullivan  11. Iraq & the Americas: 3 GEN Gangs Lessons and Prospects  Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan  12. Child Soldiers: Despair, Barbarization, and Conflict  John P. Sullivan  13. Gang, Cartel and State Interactions  Robert J. Bunker  14. Postscript: Violent Non-State Actors, Gangs and Cartels  John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker  Appendix I: Insurgency and Crime Joint Chiefs of Staff  Appendix 2: Gang and Cartel Maps (I)  Appendix 3: Gang and Cartel Maps (II), can be found on http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_facbooks/13/

    Biography

    Dr. Robert J. Bunker is Distinguished Visiting Professor and Minerva Chair at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College. He is also Adjunct Faculty, School of Politics and Economics (SPE), Claremont Graduate University.

    John P. Sullivan is a career police officer. He is also a senior fellow, Stephenson Disaster Management Institute, Louisiana State University and adjunct researcher, Scientific Vortex Foundation, Bogotá Colombia.