Från lokal gängkriminalitet till transnationell brottslighet, en studie av det ökända Mara Salvatrucha

Sammanfattning: During the last few decades so called “street gangs” have gained more and more power in both the United States and Central America. Mara Salvatrucha, a Los Angeles based gang, today has a strong presence in several American countries. This essay attempts to understand this development and poses the question: what makes street gangs turn into transnational crime organizations? The essay is based on a theoretical viewpoint in which both Marxism and Social Constructivism is applied in order to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind transnational crime. The paper concludes that both theoretical perspectives have great merits in application but with different focus points. Marxism sees the explanation to Mara Salvatruchas recent proliferation as a consequence of the capitalist system, globalization, and in the neoliberal agenda that has penetrated much of American society. Social Constructivism, with a theoretical focus on securitization theory, finds the explanation in authorities, medias and society’s way of depicting and viewing both the gang itself but also the Hispanic community in the US. Which perspective that is most favorable in a study greatly depends on both the aim and methodology of the study but also on the ontological and epistemological viewpoint of the writer.