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Chapter 3 elaborates on the migration of Albanian organized crime to Western countries. It discusses whether ethnically based organized crime groups are able to move abroad easily and reproduce their territorial control in foreign countries, or whether these groups and individuals - due to myriad factors including inequality, social exclusion, and culture conflict - start a life of crime only after their arrival in new territories. This chapter examines the intentional and unintentional migration of Albanian criminal groups, the rage that many young people felt for the West that tantalized them with its wealth yet forbade them legal entry, and the range of criminal activities in which these groups became involved in upon their arrival in the new territories. It also pursues the following questions: Do Albanian organized crime groups get support from their ethnic constituencies abroad? And are these criminal organizations malleable, learning organizations? The migration of Albanian organized crime offenders to the E.U. and the U.S. is discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 2 provides a chronological as well as theoretically founded introduction to the origins of Albanian organized crime in Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia. It studies the impact of wars, institutional ambivalence, and normlessness (or “culture conflict”) on the strengthening of criminal-political ties and the rise in organized crime in post-communist Albanian society. The effects of neoliberalism, consumerism, and economic strain have been examined in this context, too. This chapter argues that understanding the impact of emotions and non-economic interests is essential for understanding human behavior. The chapter pursues the following questions: Is organized crime as much about hatred, frustration and excitement as it is about poverty, possessing, and wealth? Has the Albanian customary Kanun laws led to a drastic increase in violent and organized crime in Albania? What can a study of societies permeated by a history of violence, patriarchate, and incomplete modernization tell us about the motivations and decision-making processes of organized crime figures? This chapter shed lights on the rational and normative-affective dimensions of organized crime to understand Albanian criminality.

Chapter 4 examines past and current structures of ethnic Albanian organized crime groups in the Balkans and the Western world: Are these groups indeed family-based and hierarchically structured, as media reports claim? It studies the role that social institutions, networks, and intimate personal groups play in shaping behavior. In particular it focuses on the clan-based structure of the Albanian society. This chapter also describes some organizational changes that Albanian criminal groups have undergone recently, and it illustrates how (and if) they have altered their structure in response to past experience and new information. Do Albanian crime groups have a long-term strategy for progress and advancement? Are Albanian criminal organizations rational and malleable, learning organizations? Are there any Albanian organized crime groups that have survived even after the arrests of major players? Do they have a way to replicate themselves?

Chapter 6 provides a careful examination of the cultural influences behind some common Albanian criminal activities. Should one blame the Albanian customary Kanun laws for the increased involvement of Albanians in trafficking women for sexual exploitation? Basically, how do Albanian criminals select illicit markets? Do cultural and emotional factors play a role in the selection of criminal activities? This chapter elaborates on the nature of the criminal activities in which Albanian offenders are commonly engaged. It reflects on the neutralization techniques used by Albanian organized crime figures to justify their crimes. It also examines links between culture and gender, human trafficking and subordination of women, illicit trade in firearms and gun culture, and extortion and hospitality.