Book Review: The nexus between organized crime and terrorism by Paoli, L., Fijnaut, C., and Wouters, J. (Eds.)

• Published date: 01 September 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10575677231171661
• Author: Carter F. Smith
• Date: 01 September 2023
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

the Carabineros decision to abandon legitimately elected President Salvador Allende during a coup in

1973 upon orders of their superiors. While Esparza acknowledges the subsequent Pinochet dictator-

ship was a time where police corruption was much higher, he does not put much focus on the prop-

osition that the swiftness with which the Carabineros switched allegiance and contributed to the

facilitation of the coup was in many respects a product of institutional militarization, which continues

to be ref‌lected in the repressive use of Chilean police to repress protest into the twenty-f‌irst Century

—something Esparza does discuss, however, apportions blame to other parties than the police,

including blaming the violence of protesters themselves. This apparent commitment to championing

Chile as the ‘gold standard’of Latin American police organization is a rare misstep in this book,

which otherwise presents well-reasoned and logical arguments to support its contentions.

Esparza’s arguments in Policing & Politics in Latin America are strong, and have implications

even outside of Latin America. Indeed, much of Esparza’s conclusion focuses instead on applying

his conceptual framework to the United States, where he asserts that the heavy decentralization

and haphazard professionalization of American policing (which he describes as “a state of perpetual

crisis”) is responsible for police misconduct there being higher than in other industrialized, developed

nations with greater levels of centralization and professionalization (p. 135). The Latin American

examples Esparza provides highlight this to varying extents, emphasizing that Weberian ideals of

the administrative modernization of state are an ongoing process across the region, as the legacy

of colonialism and postcolonial disruption continue to be experienced (p. 125). For Esparza, the

answer rests in the restructuring of law enforcement into a more centralized, professionalized, and

even militarized form. While this may not resolve all of the problems associated with police corrup-

tion, Esparza makes a good case for this process improving the conditions that produce corruption

and, in turn, enhancing public trust in law enforcement.

ORCID iDs

Paul Bleakley https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2512-4072

Paoli, L., Fijnaut, C., and Wouters, J. (Eds.) (2022).

The nexus between organized crime and terrorism. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, pp. 523,

ISBN: 9781788979290. $225.00.

Reviewed by: Carter F. Smith ,Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA

DOI: 10.1177/10575677231171661

The Nexus Between Organized Crime and Terrorism evaluates group logistics, f‌inances, recruiting,

and policy along with case studies to examine the stated nexus in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East

as well as North and South America. The editors sought to address the gaps in the literature caused by

conceptual imprecision and the scarcity of empirical research. Using a compilation of chapters in f‌ive

sections, they presented (a) a conceptualization of the nexus; (b) an explanation of how terrorist

groups acquire personnel, weapons, and money; (c) case studies demonstrating the existence (or

absence) of the nexus; and (d) analysis of the relevant initiatives taken by international bodies.

Each chapter served to contribute to the overarching theme while providing a standalone analysis.

Section 1 demonstrated the scientif‌ic, social, and policy relevance of the nexus, along with con-

temporary manifestations. Related policy declarations by the United Nations and various European

organizations and an explanation of the value the book was intended to bring to the literature fol-

lowed. The editors’aims and the book content, origin, and development were then presented with

Book Review 335