Homo Criminalis

How Organised Crime Organises the World

Mark Galeotti

$55

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Ebury Press
07 September 2025

General & world history; Organised crime

A witty whistle-stop tour through organised crime across the centuries, by acclaimed historian and journalist Mark Galeotti, exploring how the underworld shapes our overworld, perfect for fans of Otto English.

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: Mark Galeotti
Imprint: Ebury Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 750g
ISBN: 9781529148220
ISBN 10: 1529148227
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 07 September 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Professor Mark Galeotti is one of the foremost Russia-watchers today, who travels there regularly to teach, lecture, talk to his contacts, and generally watch the unfolding story of the Putin era. Based in London, he is Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Institute of International Relations Prague, having previously headed its Centre for European Security, and was before then Professor of Global Affairs at NYU. A prolific author on Russia and security affairs, he frequently acts as consultant to various government, commercial and law-enforcement agencies.