Beyond Confinement

Cape Gangsters and the Sub-Saharan Trade of Stolen Electronics

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2143184
AutoresBrandaan Huigen (0000-0002-1457-6276, Freie Universität Berlin, autor correspondente)
Ano2023
Volume88
Fascículo3
Páginas554-575
Data de publicação2023-05-27
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoEthnos (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0014-1844 • E-ISSN: 1469-588X
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00141844.2021.1887914
OpenAlexW3132627665
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas39

Instead of being perceived as confined to oppressive spaces in South Africa, detached from mainstream society, in this article I show that gangsters in Cape Town have harnessed liberalisation since the 1990s to become players in the market economy. This is illustrated by means of two criminal practices that support the illicit trade in electronics: residential burgling and transnational smuggling. By tracing the circulation of stolen electronics, gangsters and their migrant collaborators are shown to use flexible procedures to prevent detection and custody. These procedures capitalise on the changes brought by liberalisation, allowing for the efficient flow of electronics consignments to distant African cities and villages. It is argued that thinking through these procedures allows for a nuanced understanding of contemporary gang dynamics beyond confinement

Cape · Criminology · Electronics · Liberalization · Mainstream · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Engineering · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Law · Sex work and related issues