Overview

Through biographical investigations of gang members' life histories, this open access book illustrates the range of causes, motivations, and consequences associated with being a gang member. Gangs are one of a small number of truly global social phenomena, present across time and space all over the world. Partly as a result of this ubiquity, gangs are inherently revealing social institutions, and can be connected to a range of fundamental human activities, such as the exercise of power, capital accumulation, socialization, identity formation, territorialization, or the articulation of gender relations, amongst others. At the same time, however, gangs are also frequently associated with an almost pathological form of violence, generally represented as engaging in senseless forms of brutality, and gangsters are popular global scapegoats. Such representations make it all the more urgent to understand what it is that truly motivates individuals to become gang members, why they undergo particular trajectories, and what the long-term consequences of gang membership might be. Through a comparison of thirteen life histories of gang members from twelve different countries around the world, this book offers a nuanced and sensitive overview of the global gang experience. Life histories are ideal lenses through which to explore these issues due to their ability to simultaneously reflect both the uniqueness and the embedded complexity of gang lives, but also their capacity to offer fundamentally relatable portraits that elicit empathy and humanize individuals. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the European Research Council grant (no. 787935).

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9781350525061

Table of Contents

Reviews

Dennis Rodgers and his colleagues have compiled a compelling and unique volume of research. It presents mixed media views of the lives of gang and “near-gang” members as they go about their daily lives. The chapters bring a passion and personal understanding not often seen in social research. The book is dependent on the words and meanings of the researcher and the researched. * Scott Decker, Arizona State University, USA * Gang Lives provides powerful, well-written life histories that globally capture what it means to suffer under poverty, hunger, state persecution, and civil wars, and how gangs become a vehicle to not only survive such hardships, but also matter in the world. It also beautifully illustrates the struggle to redeem oneself after a life of violence and crime, a bumpy road to desistance that might miraculously end in redemption – or in a limbo of uncertainty. In all, this volume gives humanity and voice to people much despised, but much misunderstood around the world. * Randol Contreras, University of California, Riverside, USA * This is a powerful collection of life histories of individuals whose lives have been shaped by encounters with gangs. The research is sensitive, respectful and, importantly, allows for rich and varied stories to emerge from a range of geographical locations. The chapters foreground gang lives as part of wider social worlds and relationships. Crucially, the collection resists the pull of stereotypes and caricatures to present deeply intimate and human stories of lives affected by gangs. A moving and important contribution. * Mo Hume, University of Glasgow, UK *

Dennis Rodgers and his colleagues have compiled a compelling and unique volume of research. It presents mixed media views of the lives of gang and “near-gang” members as they go about their daily lives. The chapters bring a passion and personal understanding not often seen in social research. The book is dependent on the words and meanings of the researcher and the researched. * Scott Decker, Arizona State University, USA *

Author Information

Dennis Rodgers is University Professor and Excellence Chair in the MESOPOLHIS laboratory (UMR 7064 AMU-CNRS-Sciences Po Aix) at Aix-Marseille University, France, and Research Associate in the Centre on Conflict, Development, and Peacebuilding (CCDP) at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland. He has authored or edited over 150 publications, including the edited volumes Ethnography as Risky Business (2019), Global Gangs (2014), and Youth Violence in Latin America (2009).

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