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Homo Criminalis

How crime organises the world

Mark Galeotti

$56.95   $51.25

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English
Ebury Press
06 August 2026
'Glittering... the author’s obvious enthusiasm for the subject is matched by impressive erudition' The Spectator

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

When does a bandit become a monarch? When does a gang become a government? And is organised crime at the heart of every modern state?

On a thrilling whistle-stop tour of how the world's criminal underbelly has shaped state-making, capitalism, globalisation and all forms of so-called legitimate power, Homo Criminalis shows 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 shows us how the world's dark underbelly shapes us, no matter how we try to outpace it.

Entertaining, engaging and packed full of fascinating stories, Homo Criminalis is a book for those who want to see our grand story of progress through the surprising and subversive new lens of organised crime.
By:  
Imprint:   Ebury Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 198mm,  Width: 129mm,  Spine: 35mm
Weight:   500g
ISBN:   9781529148244
ISBN 10:   1529148243
Pages:   320
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Primary ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

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.

Reviews for Homo Criminalis: How crime organises the world

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 *


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