Global Gangs: A Comparative Research Project

Researchers:

Thomas J. Biersteker

Oliver Jütersonke

Dennis Rodgers

Jennifer Hazen

This project seeks to address the lack of cross-country comparison in the literature on youth gangs. It was constructed around a two-day workshop, held in Geneva on 14-15 May 2009, that brought together individuals with an in-depth experience of primary research, with each being commissioned to write short, precise contributions on youth gangs in their context of expertise. The focus on cross-country comparison offered important opportunities to exchange information and current research findings, to build upon existing knowledge, and to debate a number of commonly held perceptions and theories. It is hoped that the workshop will lead to insights that will enable the re-writing of contributions in a proper comparative light for a planned volume that will be truly comparative in nature rather than a simple juxtaposition of different gang studies.