The Structure of Trade-type and Governance-type Organized Crime Groups: a Network Study

The Structure of Trade-type and Governance-type Organized Crime Groups: a Network Study

The paper provides a theoretical framework for categorizing organized crime groups based on what they do—whether they produce, trade or govern. It tests whether the internal structure of, respectively, a heroin distribution organization in New York City (trade) and a Sicilian mafia group, and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (governance) differ. Applying Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) methods to network data, we find the organizational structure of trade-type organized crime differs markedly from governance-type. The former displays a high level of centralization, an even distribution of clustering values, short paths and low homophily. Governance-type organized crime displays the opposite features. We conclude that the core activity of the group is crucial in understanding the organizational structure.

This paper is co-authored by Federico Varese and Niles Breuer

Federico Varese, Professor of Criminology, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford and Niles Breuer, MSc in Sociology, University of Oxford

Federico Varese is Head of the Sociology Department, Professor of Criminology and a Senior Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford. His main area of research is the study of organised crime. He has written on the Russian mafia, Soviet criminal history, migration of mafia groups, Somali piracy, the dynamics of altruistic behaviour, and the application of Social Network Analysis to criminology. Currently, he is involved in research projects on the governance dimension of organised gangs in the UK, cybercrime markets, the Russian mafia and sub-standard medicines. He is the author of three monographs: The Russian Mafia (OUP, 2001), Mafias on the Move (PUP, 2011) and Mafia Life (2018), and an edited collected, Organized Crime (Routledge, 2010). His books have been translated into eight different languages. 

Niles Breuer works as a strategy consultant and holds an MSc in Sociology from the University of Oxford. His research interests focus on investigating the structure of organized crime groups using social network analysis techniques.