THE TRANSNATIONAL ORGANISED CRIME IN THE TWILIGHT OF GLOBALISATION AND EUROPEANISATION

In this article, we reflect on our personal experience of acting as ‘independent academic experts’ in an European Union (EU) policy forum, to reflect on how the EU utilises gender to legitimise certain policy discourses in combating sex trafficking. Starting from our personal experience, we draw on wider feminist research on gender expertise and on Fraser’s new reflexive theory of political injustice, to consider how the EU structures debates in this area to determine ‘who’ is entitled to speak and be heard on this issue. In a context in which sex trafficking policy intersects with a variety of competing agendas on – among other things – law and order, organised crime, immigration, asylum and border security policy, our argument will suggest that the exclusion of critical feminist voices and lack of alternative perspectives permits much scope for continuing inequality and injustice.

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Combatting organised crime and terrorism in Central Asia

Journal of Financial Crime ◽

10.1108/jfc-07-2017-0069 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 309-319 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Emma van Santen

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Explanatory Power ◽

Academic Research ◽

Organised Crime ◽

The State ◽

State Crime ◽

International Policy ◽

Content Type ◽

Central Asian ◽

Terrorist Groups

Purpose This paper aims to examine the shift away from the traditional distinction between organised crime and terrorist groups towards their conceptual convergence under the crime-terror nexus narrative in the context of international security and development policy in post-Soviet Central Asia. It assesses the empirical basis for the crime-terror and state-crime nexus in three Central Asian countries – Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – and argues that the exclusion of the state from the analytical framework undermines the relevance of the crime-terror paradigm for policy-making. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on a literature review of academic research, recent case studies highlighting new empirical evidence in Central Asia and international policy publications. Findings There is a weak empirical connection between organised crime and Islamic extremists, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Hizbut Tahrir, in Central Asia. The state-crime paradigm, including concepts of criminal capture, criminal sovereignty and criminal penetration, hold more explanatory power for international policy in Central Asia. The crime-terror paradigm has resulted in a narrow and ineffective security-oriented law enforcement approach to counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism but does not address the underlying weak state governance structures and political grievances that motivate organised crime and terrorist groups respectively. Originality/value International policy and scholarship is currently focussed on the areas of convergence between organised crime and terrorist groups. This paper highlights the continued relevance of the traditional conceptual separation of terrorist and organised crime groups based on their different motives, methods and relationship with the state, for security and democratic governance initiatives in the under-researched Central Asian region.

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#GomorraLaSerie: Converging audience and enhanced authorship on twenty-first-century Italian screens

Modern Italy ◽

10.1017/s1353294400014800 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 335-349 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pierluigi Erbaggio

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Quantitative Analysis ◽

Young People ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Organised Crime ◽

First Century ◽

Social Media Platform ◽

Screen Viewing ◽

The Social ◽

Media Platform

Based on Roberto Saviano's book Gomorra (2006), production of the TV series Gomorra – La serie (2014) was met with scepticism as many feared it would glamorise organised crime and, consequently, attract young people toward Camorra affiliation. The series' bleak portrayal of criminals and criminality was offered as a response to such concerns. Despite the preoccupations, Gomorra – La serie was hugely successful and, because of its quality, was sold to other countries. In Italy, the series' success can be measured by the popularity of its Twitter hashtag #GomorraLaSerie. Engaged with Henry Jenkins' theories of media convergence and based on a corpus of tweets bearing this official hashtag, this article proposes a quantitative analysis and advances conclusions regarding the Italian TV audience and second-screen viewing practices. Additionally, through a qualitative study of Saviano's tweets about the series, it examines the writer's use of the social media platform as a tool of narrative continuity. Finally, the article highlights a few examples of fan-generated media and concludes with remarks regarding Saviano's problematic position at the centre of a transmedia object.

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