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Gangs as contractors: The social organization of American Taiwanese youth gangs in Southern California
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This paper examines the organizational structure and operations of Taiwanese organized crime and youth gangs in Southern California.
In-depth interviews were used as the principle method of research. In contrast to transnational criminal conspiracy claims
and the La Cosa Nostra model of vertically integrated organizations, our findings suggest that these criminal groups consist of discrete local Taiwanese
youth gangs which operate as largely independent economic units that show no substantive and operational ties to criminal
organizations in Taiwan. The formation of Taiwanese criminal organizations and gangs in Southern California is primarily governed
by the availability of financial opportunities. Furthermore, both the inter-gang relations and intra-gang structures exhibit
a distinct form of contractor arrangement which consists of market-like weak ties that are simultaneously circumscribed by
the criminal embeddedness. We argue that that these economic weak ties, which seem to render conventionally understood criminal
organizational boundaries administratively less meaningful, still function as an operationally significant governance mechanism
of the organizational structures of American Taiwanese youth gangs. In addition, the paper discusses the implications that
the embeddedness has on the somewhat paradoxical and incoherent organizational structure.
KeywordsAmerican Taiwanese youth gangs-Criminal organizations-Embeddedness-Organizational structures-Weak ties
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... Furthermore, their participation has led to a reconfiguration of ideology and identities within gangs, as members become entrenched in the logic and ethos of capitalism (Sassen, 2007). In fact, Pih et al. (2010) found that the very essence of Asian gangs has undergone a dramatic transformation, with branches of Asian organized crime groups beginning to refer to themselves as "the company." That is to say, gangs as a whole have transitioned from a loosely organized playgroup turned criminal network to economic machines, the difference between legitimate enterprises and criminal ones being the level of coercion and illegal methods employed to achieve their financial objectives (Pih et al., 2010). ...
... In fact, Pih et al. (2010) found that the very essence of Asian gangs has undergone a dramatic transformation, with branches of Asian organized crime groups beginning to refer to themselves as "the company." That is to say, gangs as a whole have transitioned from a loosely organized playgroup turned criminal network to economic machines, the difference between legitimate enterprises and criminal ones being the level of coercion and illegal methods employed to achieve their financial objectives (Pih et al., 2010). ...
... Asian gangsters and the American television family Jeffersons have much in common: they are all trying to "move on up" to acquire a "piece of the pie." This theme permeates across the gangster films from the respective three countries, and reinforces existing scholarship on why individuals join gangs (e.g., Pih et al., 2010). Moreover, upward striving suffuses the relationships of low-level gangsters to middle-level gangsters (dai-los, hyoung-nims, and oyabuns), and the preceding two to the chieftains of a crime group. ...
: Previous works focusing on Asian organized crime groups have examined the history, structure, function, and the extent of their legal and illegal business enterprises. While credible, such a line of inquiry omits crucial information on the source and reasoning behind membership and affiliation for members in Asian organized crime groups, such as the “Jok-Pok”, Triads, and Yakuza. Due to the secretive nature of those organized crime groups, such an omission leaves a major gap in the understanding as to why Asian youths join gangs. This paper examines the prevailing characteristics of membership and affiliation within Asian gangs by analyzing Asian gangsters in Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) cinema. Results indicate that the lure of economic benefits, exposure to gang life from within one’s family and lack of opportunities to achieve legitimate goals constitute the three most pervasive themes that define membership within Asian gangs as represented in popular cinema.
... With few other job options, community members come to regard the gang as the employer of choice. The gang becomes primarily a business enterprise, an economic entity, rather than a social group [37,43,80,85,96,116]. ...
... In gangs in other places around the world, different types of formal structures can be found, including militarized structures in Rio's drug factions and networks of 'franchisees' in Cape Town [46]. In Southern California, Taiwanese gangs each have a clear hierarchical form but operate collectively in "business-like networks" [85]. ...
While most street gangs are temporary and disorganized, some have institutionalized, and a number of these show signs of evolving
into more serious criminal enterprises, becoming more networked, technologically savvy and internationalized, less visible,
more predatory and sometimes more violent. The boundaries that researchers have drawn between gangs and other types of criminal
groups, particularly organized crime, are becoming blurred. Understanding why this is happening is crucial to planning effective
responses. This article suggests that evolutionary theory, involving processes of variation, selection and replication, would
constitute a valuable tool for this purpose. Using an evolutionary framework would enable the application of a longitudinal
perspective to the microsocial level of analysis, the gang itself, which until now has not had as much attention as other
levels of analysis in gang research. Taking inspiration from evolutionary theories in organizational sociology and economics,
this article explores how evolutionary theory might be used to understand gang change and locate gangs within evolutionary
sequences. It argues that adopting an evolutionary perspective will improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies to focus
scarce resources where they are most needed and to plan and implement successful interventions.
... The bureaucratic model is a rationalized, hierarchical system which is impersonal and rigid in form (Abadinsky 2007). Criminal organisations like the Italian Mafia are "tightly structured in a hierarchical manner, resembling the bureaucracy found in the legitimate economy" (Pih, Hirose and Mao 2010). Various definitions of the bureaucratic model suggest that its characteristics include: a single leader, defined hierarchy, extensive division of labour, rigid and impersonal, various subordinates and code of conduct. ...
Typologies are intended to assist researchers in understanding complex social phenomena. This paper reviews the current literature on organised crime typologies and argues that the majority of organised crime typologies are reflected to some extent in a typology developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2002. Organised crime typologies can be categorised into three groups: models that focus on the physical structure and operation of an OCG, the activities of OCGs and the social, cultural and historical conditions that facilitate organised crime activity. This paper will only discuss models that examine the physical structure and operation of an OCG; the UNODC typology is exclusively focused on structural elements. Typologies on organised crime structure have developed largely in isolation from each other and appear disparate. This paper will analyse the formation of each typology to establish their individual elements. It will then identify which typologies and their respective characteristics can be aligned with or distinguished from the UN typology. The value of this review is that it will enable greater uniformity and consistency in academic discussion on organised crime typologies.
... However, the social organization of some local gangs prevents them from developing transnational ties with other criminal organizations. Sometimes the intra-gang structure and inter-8 gang relations reveal a contractor arrangement driven by weak market-like ties and criminal social capital (Pih, Hirose and Mao 2010). ...
This chapter extends the prior research on gang members as entrepreneurs and in particular seeks to understand the members of the Peyton Place Posse as entrepreneurs in the illegal narcotics market, as they pursued their quest to achieve the American Dream. Specifically, we explore the reasons for Posse members entering the illicit drug market and review their successes and failures in pursuit of capital accumulation. We begin with a synopsis of strain theory, and how gangs operate in the illegal drug market. The foregoing is followed by a brief discussion of the characteristics of the Bronx, NY. Next, we present a synopsis of the Peyton Place Posse. Finally, we use strain theory to explain the Posse’s entrepreneurial experiences and outcomes in the illegal narcotics market.
This is a list of publications on organized crime, primarily published between March and June 2014.Albonetti, Celesta A., Changes in federal sentencing for forced labor trafficking and for sex trafficking: a ten year assessment, Crime, Law and Social Change 61(2), 2014, pp. 179–204.Apollonio, Andrea, Sacra Corona Unita and ‘Ndrangheta: “Structural” Differences of Organized Crime, in: Nicoletta Serenata (ed.), The ‘Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita: The History, Organization and Operation of Two Unknown Mafia Groups, Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2014, pp. 133–165.Arsovska, Jana, The “G-local” Dimension of Albanian Organized Crime: Mafias, Strategic Migration and State Repression, European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 20(2), 2014, pp. 205–223.Bailey, John, The Politics of Crime in Mexico: Democratic Governance in a Security Trap, Boulder, CO: FirstForumPress, 2014.Barrick, Kelle, Lattimore, Pamela K., Pitts, Wayne J. & Zhang, Sheldon X., When farmworkers and advocates see traf
Outline of a Theory of Practice is recognized as a major theoretical text on the foundations of anthropology and sociology. Pierre Bourdieu, a distinguished French anthropologist, develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood. With his central concept of the habitus, the principle which negotiates between objective structures and practices, Bourdieu is able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world. The author draws on his fieldwork in Kabylia (Algeria) to illustrate his theoretical propositions. With detailed study of matrimonial strategies and the role of rite and myth, he analyses the dialectical process of the 'incorporation of structures' and the objectification of habitus, whereby social formations tend to reproduce themselves. A rigorous consistent materialist approach lays the foundations for a theory of symbolic capital and, through analysis of the different modes of domination, a theory of symbolic power.
When viewed under the lenses of the 'model' minority myth, Asian youths are often portrayed as academic 'overachievers' who strictly adhere to the norms and values of society. Although empirically inaccurate and racially stereotypic, the 'model' minority discourse serves to mask the incredible diversity that exists within the Asian American community. With this in mind, the present paper utilizes survey data to provide a descriptive portrait of Asian gang members in Southern California, paying close attention to their overall attitudes and beliefs about gang life - an area of research that has often been neglected. At the same time, the current study also examines similarities and differences between self-admitted Asian gang members (n = 128) and non-Asian gang members (n = 157) in relation to such topics as school experiences, peer and family relationships, perceived life opportunities, and delinquent attitudes and behaviors.
Youth gangs are a major part of the urban landscape. Gang members always have been involved in collective and individual violence and, in recent years, in drug use and drug dealing. Involvement in drug dealing recently has been associated with increased violence among gangs. However, variation in organizational and social processes within gangs suggests that there also will be variation in drug-crime relationships among gang members. Analyses of the drug-crime relationships were conducted from interviews with 151 gang members in three cities. Four types of gangs were identified, and similar gang types were observed in the three cities. All gang types had high involvement in drug use, but drug dealing varied. The severity of collective gang crime was associated with the prevalence of drug use within a gang. Drug dealing occurred among gangs with both high and low involvement in violence and other crimes. Involvement in cocaine, opiates, and PCP occurred among both violent and nonviolent gangs, as well as among gangs with different involvement in drug dealing. The results suggest that the drug-crime relationship is skewed and spurious for gang members, similar to relationships among nongang inner-city adolescents. Members of violent gangs more often reported the existence of several features of social organization and cohesion in their gangs, independent of gang involvement in drug use and dealing. Similar to other urban adolescents, for gang members violence is not an inevitable consequence of involvement in drug use or dealing.
