Gangs have been active in cities for centuries and they aren’t going away. The backdrop for many of the essays collected in Global Gangs is the rising tide of drug trafficking since the 1980s and the new opportunities afforded for profitable delinquency—as well as violence and addiction. The definition of “gang” is given much consideration given the permeable boundaries between gangs, crime syndicates, youth vigilante groups and militias. Social exclusion contributes to gang growth, as does poverty and “economic reform” in China. The contributors to Global Gangs offer thought-provoking commentary on an often-misrepresented phenomenon.
