A World of Gangs by John M. Hagedorn

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A World of Gangs by John M. Hagedorn
John M. Hagedorn’s A World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture (hereafter referred to as “A World of Gangs”) looks at the proliferation of urban criminal gangs due to the negative effects of globalization. For the billions of people living in urban slum areas, gangs are an ever-present element of routine life. Although gangs are still closely linked to American city life, this trend has slowly become a global phenomenon that plays an integral role in a number of activities, such as armed robberies, drug and human trafficking, political violence, and extortion, among others. Examining gang formation and gang activity in the three cities of Chicago, Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro, Hagedorn discovers the institutionalization of gangs as an elaborate and systematic scheme to confront the issues of racism, severe poverty, and despondency. The author provides very important insights into the philosophies and ideologies of gangs operating in various parts of the world. A World of Gangs brings together the scrupulous tools and skills of social research to illuminate the cultures, tragedies, and aspirations of rebellious youths in different countries around the world. It is a novel and vital attempt at understanding street gangs and the gang culture, with the main thesis being that urban gangs arose due to the failure of social movements to create meaningful change.
Hagedorn’s analysis deviates fro…