Homo Criminalis. How crime organises the world

Crime doesn't just pay, it tells. What we choose to ban, penalise or prosecute says something about us; and how far the mobsters and mafias are still able to ply their trades says something about us, too.

Homo Criminalis tells a thrilling tale of the world's changing values, the rise of the state and the emergence of modern society, through the evolution of the underworld and its crimes. From Chinese banditry and eighteenth-century English tea smuggling to today's cocaine submarines and the high-tech crimes of tomorrow, this book aims to shows just how far society has changed - and how crime has changed with us.

Often considered marginal or an aberration, we'll see how the power structures and power struggles of the criminal world have actually worked to drive progress, forming the necessary dark underbelly of humanity's evolution.

Review

One of the most astute political commentators on Putin and modern Russia ― Financial Times

In Homo Criminalis, Mark Galeotti does not shy away from asking the big questions―is every state founded on a crime? Are robbers with of a code of honour a mafia or a kingdom? Why crime flourishes at times of social upheavals? His answers take us on a tour-de-force across the centuries and the continents in a book replete with poignant examples and written in his distinctive style, accessible yet precise. A must read. -- Frederico Varese, author of 'Russia in Four Criminals'

From medieval bandits to modern mafias, Homo Criminalis takes us on a fast-paced journey through the underworlds that have shaped our upperworld. Combining captivating storytelling with incisive analysis, Galeotti's sweeping global history makes a compelling case that to truly understand how the world works we must understand the criminals who've helped create it. -- Peter Andreas, author of 'The Illicit Global Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know'

In the study of organised crime we often don't look enough at history and in the study of history we don't look enough at organised crime. There is no one better than Galeotti to bridge the divide as he does in Homo Criminalis. His prescient and often witty narrative keeps you reading, and even if you are buried deep in the debate, there are new insights on every page. -- Mark Shaw, Director of the Global Institute Against Transnational Organized Crime

Glittering... the author’s obvious enthusiasm for the subject is matched by impressive erudition. ― Spectator

The readable, scary, fun beach read of new crime literature ― Financial Times

About the Author

Mark Galeotti is one of the world’s leading experts on Russian crime and security (which are often one and the same), which may explain why Moscow banned him in 2022. After a stint with the Foreign Office, he has been a scholar and think-tanker in London, New York, Moscow, Prague and Florence. He now heads the consultancy Mayak Intelligence and is an honorary professor at University College London and a senior fellow with RUSI and the Council on Geostrategy. A prolific author, he frequently acts as consultant to various government, commercial and law-enforcement agencies and has briefed everyone from prime ministers to CEOs.