This text opens up a needed (and so far largely absent) conversation between the economic geography field and the study of organized crime and illicit economic practices. It summarizes key problems in spatial approaches to conceptualizing these topics and suggests a rich schematic of areas for future research. The application of network ontologies to the study of organized crime has the potential to critically contribute both to scholarly understanding of organized criminal economies and to the economic geography literature more broadly. I recommend this book and look forward to using it in the classroom.--Geoffrey Boyce, PhD, School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona
This long-awaited book rightly identifies a gap in the research and fills it skillfully. Hall's explanations of spatial patterns in a broader economic context cover the causes, growth, and movement of organized crime globally. Setting organized crime onto this broader economic context adds to the ability to understand contemporary patterns and foresee future moves, allowing for the development of more effective policy responses. Hall's insights make substantial contributions to the field.--Claudia Hofmann, PhD, Director, Executive Master of International Service program, American University
Hall offers a timely, trenchant, and comprehensive primer on the state of the scholarship on organized crime. With special attention to the multi-scaled and transnational character of criminal activity, Hall shows how central this issue is for understanding the global economy. This volume is destined to become a 'go-to' source for all students of illegal trade, from drug trafficking to counterfeiting. For economic geographers, the book is a provocation to engage more deeply with the vastly underexplored illicit side of globalization. For criminologists, it is a wake-up call to recognize how crime manifests in and across space--and why that matters to states, law enforcement, and the general public.--Kendra McSweeney, PhD, Department of Geography, The Ohio State University
Hall offers a valuable account of why geographers should be engaging with organized crime, and, likewise, why scholars of organized crime should be looking at geographical aspects. He demonstrates the need to consider organized criminal activity as a process involving multiple actors and nodes. The book critically examines the key approaches to responding to organized crime, including prohibition, supply suppression, changing the political contexts where organized crime groups operate, and the development of regulatory frameworks at the global level.--Craig Martin, PhD, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom-
