Illicit Flows and Criminal Things: States, Borders, and the Other Side of Globalization

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Edited by Willem van Schendel and Itty Abraham and Criminal Things Illicit Flows States, Borders, and the Other Side of Globalization Illicit Flows and Criminal Things van Schendel and Abraham INDIANA INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis http://iupress.indiana.edu . 1-800-842-6796 Is there, as some recent reports suggest, a specter haunting globalization—the specter of international organized crime? Illicit Flows and Criminal Things offers a new perspective on international relations, global security, and the worldwide circulation of people, things, and ideas. The contributors to this timely volume argue for a nuanced approach that recognizes the difference between “organized” crime and the thousands of illicit acts that take place across national borders every day. They distinguish between the illegal (prohibited by law) and the illicit (socially perceived as unacceptable ), definitions which are historically changeable and contested. Although states and legal institutions seek to criminalize the transnational linkages associated with certain goods and acts, they are often deeply implicated in them. This thought-provoking collection explores how states, borders, and the language of law enforcement produce criminality , and how “illegal” people and goods move across regulatory spaces. Detailed case studies of “underworlds” and “borderlands” around the globe focus on arms smuggling, transnational migration, the global diamond trade, borderland practices, and the transnational consumption of drugs. Willem van Schendel is Professor, Modern Asian History, University of Amsterdam and head of the Asia Department, International Institute of Social History. His books include The Bengal Borderland: Beyond State and Nation in South Asia. Itty Abraham, formerly Program Director, Social Science Research Council, is Research Fellow, East-West Center, Washington, D.C., and author of The Making of the Indian Atomic and author of The Making of the Indian Atomic and author of Bomb: Science, Secrecy and the Postcolonial State. Tracking Globalization—Robert J. Foster, editor International Affairs / Sociology / Anthropology Cover photo: Illegal immigrants arrested by Spanish police in the Canary Islands, February 2005. Samuel Aranda/AFP/Getty Images. “This insightful collection of essays takes readers not only to the frontlines of criminal life, but deep into the social, political, and moral realities of the people that populate a wide range of illicit endeavors around the world. It lends a compelling human face to groundbreaking theories and vibrant on-the-ground studies.” —Carolyn Nordstrom, University of Notre Dame “[A] fresh and exciting collection addressing a question of great contemporary interest and concern . . . illustrates the value of looking at globalization from the borderlands and edges into the center.” —John Agnew, UCLA “This book not only muddies any division between licit and illicit, but along the way casts doubt on the picture of neat global mobility presented by World Bank or national treasury statistics. It is analytical yet gripping, the most exciting yet insightful book on the topic and one that will challenge all your assumptions about ‘illicit flows.’” —Neil Smith, author of The Endgame of Globalization Contributors Itty Abraham Maurice Amutabi Paul Gootenberg David Kyle Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui Kenneth I. Simala Christina A. Siracusa Ian Smillie Willem van Schendel Diana Wong J üÿÿüöüć
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