The expansion of organized crime across national borders has become a key security concern for the international community. This book examines some of the most widespread myths about the so-called Albanian Mafia. Among the questions tackled are the following: Is there a nation-wide Albanian Mafia that is hierarchically structured, highly secretive, and based on ethnic ties? Has the re-emergence of the Albanian customary Kanun laws led to increase in violent and organized crime in Albania? Is organized crime as much about emotions as it is about poverty, possessing, and wealth? What drives Alba ... More

The expansion of organized crime across national borders has become a key security concern for the international community. This book examines some of the most widespread myths about the so-called Albanian Mafia. Among the questions tackled are the following: Is there a nation-wide Albanian Mafia that is hierarchically structured, highly secretive, and based on ethnic ties? Has the re-emergence of the Albanian customary Kanun laws led to increase in violent and organized crime in Albania? Is organized crime as much about emotions as it is about poverty, possessing, and wealth? What drives Albanian offenders to commit brutal crimes and remain silent about them? Are Albanian organized crime groups able to gain control of foreign territories? The narratives presented in this book are about the dynamic relationship between culture, politics, and transnational organized crime, and are based on more than a decade of empirical and ethnographic research on the causes, codes of conduct, activities, migration, and structure of Albanian organized crime groups in the Balkans, Western Europe, and the U.S. The book features interviews with victims, offenders, and law enforcement across ten countries, as well as court files and confidential intelligence reports. This book contributes to the cultural and critical dimension of criminological and sociological theory, as well as to the debate on organized crime. It sheds light on the rational and normative-affective considerations of organized crime offenders, and studies culture, conflict, incomplete modernization, and emotions in an effort to better understand human choices.