Organised Crime: Global and local covers the construction of organised crime as a concept, and the utility of the concept as a tool of governance. In doing so, the module will look at both landmark studies and the emerging horizons within the field of organised crime studies by close readings of recent cutting-edge work by leading authors in the field.

This module examines the phenomena of organised crime from critical and theoretical perspectives. By starting from the paradigms of mafias, especially Italian mafias, and the definitions of organised crime, through a multi-disciplinary approach, this module will engage with key definitional debates relating to social, political, media, cultural and ideological dimensions of this field of study. Additionally, theoretical debates are outlined and applied to counter measures, in criminal law and criminal procedures against organised crime across states. In addition to its international and interdisciplinary focus on different organised criminal activities, the module will look at different countries, groups’ movements and migration of criminal activities. The module emphasises the local sphere of criminal networks and their links with societies and communities as a lens through which many of these themes are filtered.