Invitation
For the APROS-Conference (http://www.egade.itesm.mx/apros2009/index.html) we are convening a
stream under the title “organizing crime”. This stream invites contributions which look at the field of
organized/professional crime. Despite its dominance in the media “organized crime” is a widely
unexplored and neglected field. The highly covert and elusive nature and the “hypocrisy of legal
imperatives, and ignorance masquerading as moral outrage” (Hobbs, 1995: 8) lead to a lack of
academic attention.
Extensive television coverage (Smith, 1975) and the exploitation of stereotypes by the entertainment
industry shape our visions of criminal organizations. Empirical studies show that illegal market
activities are quite different from the images depicted by the media. Research suggests that
professional criminal activities like drug distribution are highly sophisticated (Adler, 1985), take place
in “disorganized” ways (e.g. Reuter, 1983) and are characterized by a fluid social system (Kenney,
2007). Risks of persecution and detection lead to a creative unfolding of the organizing activities.
This stream invites papers from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives dealing with the
organization of criminal activities. This might include: Drug distribution, arms trafficking, professional
theft, terrorism, human trafficking, identity theft, gambling, money laundering, corruption, and
insider trading.
We encourage submissions that could contribute to our understanding of “organized
crime/organizing crime”. Novel theoretical frameworks and innovative research strategies are
welcome to open the field for researchers interested in organizations and organizing.
Deadline for abstracts (approximately 500 words): 15th of July
Please e-mail abstracts to: Daniel.tschofen@uibk.ac.at
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, México. 2009