Robert Mandel: Dark Logic: Transnational CriminalTactics and Global Security

Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2011, 255 pp

Reza Barmaki

Published online: 7 October 2011� Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

The end of Cold War and the fall of Soviet Union by early 90s, and later 9/11 events in the

US, focused the attention of governmental agencies and academic institutions on nonstate

actors and international organized crime as the new sources of international instability

and security challenges. Within the academic community a new genre emerged with the

specific focus on these increasingly potent players on the global stage. Dark Logic:Transnational Criminal Tactics and Global Security is a work within this genre.

At the first glance, it appears to be an exciting book. The cover of this nicely packaged

book colourfully depicts a picture of the earth behind barbed wire as though it is inside a

prison camp, and the table of content promises a comprehensive look into the world of

international organized crime and nonstate, global actors. It is written with the intention to

fill a ‘‘crucial analytical deficiency,’’ i.e., a ‘‘pivotal hole in our understanding of trans-

national criminals’ decision making about the means to pursue their illicit ends and the

security implications of these decisions’’ (p. 1). Specifically, it focuses on answering two

questions: (1) what conditions cause international criminal organizations to choose cor-

ruption over violence, or vice versa, as their preferred tactic, and (2) when/how either of

such tactics constitutes a security threat (at the individual and/or national levels).

The book is composed of 8 chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction to the book and sets

the aim and agenda of it. Chapter 2 covers the origin and the nature of recent transfor-

mation of international organized crime and the resulting security threats and disruptions

that they pose. Despite author’s excellent effort in providing a coherent, detailed discus-

sion, this chapter is not very rewarding. The information provided are common knowledge

to those familiar with the field of organized crime.

Chapter 3 introduces the reader to the differences between tactics of corruption and

violence used by international organized crime and their different security impacts on

individuals’ and nations’ securities. The author delves into a detailed discussion of the

differences between these tactics and their impacts, and thereby sheds considerable light on

these matters. Chapter 4 focuses on several aspects of a number of major international

R. Barmaki (&)Department of Sociology, University of Toronto Mississauga, South Building, Room 3217,3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canadae-mail: reza.barmaki@utoronto.ca

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Crit Crim (2012) 20:211–212DOI 10.1007/s10612-011-9145-9

criminal organizations: (a) their history, (b) their choice of criminal tactic (corruption vs.

violence), and (c) and their individual and state level security impacts. These organizations

are the Chinese triads, the Colombian cartels, the Italian Mafia, the Japanese Yakuza, and

the Russian Mob. Chapter 5 covers major international organized crime activities: weapon,

drugs, and human trafficking. It discusses various forms of individual- and state-level

security matters that each of these activities will bring about. The chapter does a very good

job in throwing these matters into relief.

Chapter 6 is pointed out by the author as the most important chapter of the book. The

author uses the results of chapter 5 and 6 to outline a number of patterns that are said to

express the modus operandi of international organized crime and their security impacts.

The actual result, however, is a vague and cumbersome array of what the author terms

‘‘corruption versus violence syndromes’’ (p. 137) shown by international criminal orga-

nizations, and ‘‘individual security versus security syndromes’’ (p. 141) characteristic of

international organized criminals’ patterns of activity.

Chapter 7 concentrates on similarities, differences, and links between international

crime organizations and nonstate organizations, and their security impacts. The list of

nonstate organizations includes: ‘‘militant religious movements, unruly ethnopolitical

groups, ecoterroritsts and anti-globalizationists, warlords, and insurgent/rebels’’ (p. 145).

Special attention is paid to ‘terrorist’ organizations. However, author’s list of differences

between these groups is vague and somewhat arbitrary. It is not obvious how certain

criteria (e.g., ‘‘primary motivation’’, or ‘‘organizational style’’) are used to create the

categories of nonstate actors presented. Chapter 8, the conclusion, draws a number of

policy implications from the results of the other chapters.

Although the title and the look of the book is tantalizing, its content is somewhat trite.

Some of the categories and classifications introduced by the author are questionable. As a

whole, it does not offer much that is new to those already familiar with the field of

organized crime and nonstate actors. There is not much in this book that has not been

mentioned before in the massive literature covering the same subject matters. Known

determinants and results of international organized crime and nonstate actor lines of

activities are restated in this book. It does not offer much that is new in relation to

preventive measures or public policy either. The reader will only find out at the end that the

same means and policies used by all countries dealing with organized crime and nonstate

actors (force, international law, sanctions, exposure, conviction, imprisonment, etc.) may

not succeed in ending such activities. Recommended policies by the author are mostly of

common knowledge. He recommends, for examples, that officials and policy-makers

realize that ‘‘Transnational organized crime is dynamic, fluid, and adaptive, often

employing asymmetric means and the most advanced technology to achieve its ends’’

(163). This book is primarily suited to those new to the filed of organized crime and

nonstate actors. Overall, it would make an informative, well-written, and highly accessible

undergraduate-level coursebook.

212 R. Barmaki

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