Gangs and a global sociological imagination
| Published date | 01 February 2018 |
| Author | Alistair Fraser,John M Hagedorn |
| Date | 01 February 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1362480616659129 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480616659129
Theoretical Criminology
2018, Vol. 22(1) 42 –62
© The Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1362480616659129
journals.sagepub.com/home/tcr
Gangs and a global sociological
imagination
Alistair Fraser
University of Glasgow, UK
John M Hagedorn
University of Illinois-Chicago, USA
Abstract
Across the globe, the phenomenon of youth gangs has become an important and sensitive
public issue. In this context, an increasing level of research attention has focused on the
development of universalized definitions of gangs in a global context. In this article, we
argue that this search for similarity has resulted in a failure to recognize and understand
difference. Drawing on an alternative methodology we call a ‘global exchange’, this article
suggests three concepts—homologies of habitus, vectors of difference and transnational
reflexivity—that seek to re-engage the sociological imagination in the study of gangs and
globalization.
Keywords
Bourdieu, comparison, C Wright Mills, gangs, globalization, reflexivity
Around the world, the youth gang phenomenon has become an important and sensitive
public issue. In communities from Los Angeles to Rio, Capetown to London, the real and
perceived threat from highly visible, street-based groups of young people has come to
dominate news headlines, policy guidelines and research agendas. At the same time, the
image of ‘the gang’ has become globally recognized and consumed, mediated through
film, popular culture and ‘real-life’ TV series. ‘Gangs’ are depicted as an episodic
Corresponding author:
Alistair Fraser, University of Glasgow, SCCJR, Ivy Lodge, Glasgow, G12 8LR, UK.
Email: Alistair.Fraser@Glasgow.ac.uk
659129TCR0010.1177/1362480616659129Theoretical CriminologyFraser and Hagedorn
research-article2016
Article
Fraser and Hagedorn 43
phenomenon comparable across diverse geographical sites, with the US gang stereotype
often operating as archetype. Mirroring this trend, academic researchers have increas-
ingly sought to survey the global topography of gangs through positivist methodologies
that seek out universal characteristics of gangs in different cultural contexts. In this arti-
cle, we argue that these top–down definitions privilege a static view of gang membership
that neglects the localized meanings, historical antecedents and cultural contexts of
gangs. These definitions fail to capture the fluidity and contradiction inherent in gang
identification, foreclose the capacity of gangs to develop into either pro-social organiza-
tions or more organized criminal entities and create an artificial sense of similarity
between diverse cultural contexts. In the process, gang research has become disengaged
with the broader current of sociological theory, resulting in a narrowing in the represen-
tation and analysis of diverse street-based groups.
In this article, we argue that new theoretical and methodological tools are required to
understand the global gang phenomenon from the bottom–up. In making this argument,
we draw on a transnational research exchange between Glasgow and Chicago which
drew on comparative ethnographic observations. Grounding comparative analysis at this
level reveals significant divergences in the nature, meaning and history of gang identifi-
cation in these two contexts, and a corresponding difficulty with employing a common
definition or response. In proposing ways to make sense of these differences, drawing
particularly from the sociological thought of Mills and Bourdieu, we argue for the need
to re-engage the sociological imagination in gang research through engagement with the
intersecting issues of social structure, individual biography and cultural context. First,
we discuss some of the principal shortcomings of current theoretical and methodological
approaches to gangs in a global context, and outline the principles and practice of our
‘global exchange’ as an alternative. Following this, we introduce three concepts—
homologies of habitus, vectors of difference and transnational reflexivity—which build
from our shared experiences to construct a comparative theoretical framework. In the
conclusion, we argue for the need for a new critical sociology of gangs in a global con-
text, cultivating a global sociological imagination that is rooted in the history, culture and
politics of distinct urban locales while recognizing the intimate connections between
social structure and individual disposition. By so doing, we hope to demonstrate the
potential of a global sociological imagination in criminological research more broadly.
Gangs and globalization
The interlocking processes that have developed under the heading of ‘globalization’—
namely ‘the progressive enmeshment of human communities with each other over time
and […] the complex social, economic and environmental processes that stretch across
their borders’ (Held, 2000: 394)—have had important ramifications for the study of
gangs (Brotherton, 2007). While processes of globalization have in some cases led to
convergences in lifestyles and behaviours in distal communities, these remain marked by
lines of global stratification, in which social, cultural and spatial mobility is a central
motif. As Bauman (2000: 2) notes, ‘[a]longside the emerging planetary dimensions of
business, finance, trade and information, a “localizing”, space-fixing process is set in
motion […] freedom to move […] fast becomes the main stratifying force of our
To continue reading
Request your trial