Few studies reflect the critical need to study gangs across time and space. Most investigations focus on a single gang or gangs in a single community, and present the gang in a “snapshot” manner, reflecting the nature of the gang at a specific point in time. More importantly, few collections offer comparative studies of gangs across cultures. This volume uniquely offers a thematic approach to engage in concrete comparisons, both contextually and transnationally, of gangs In Brazil, China, El Salvador, France, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, South Africa, ... More

Few studies reflect the critical need to study gangs across time and space. Most investigations focus on a single gang or gangs in a single community, and present the gang in a “snapshot” manner, reflecting the nature of the gang at a specific point in time. More importantly, few collections offer comparative studies of gangs across cultures. This volume uniquely offers a thematic approach to engage in concrete comparisons, both contextually and transnationally, of gangs In Brazil, China, El Salvador, France, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, South Africa, the USA. Each chapter is based on direct primary empirical research, and the collection is framed by a critical Introduction by the editors and an Afterword by renowned US gang researcher Sudhir Venkatesh. The volume is likely to reach a wide-ranging audience across disciplines, including: anthropology, criminology, development studies, geography, history, international studies, law, political science, sociology, and urban studies. It could serves as a foundational text for advanced undergraduate level courses on conflict and violence, urban security studies, or informal politics, for example, as well as a useful resource at the MA level..