2008/08/14 by Michael Woodiwiss, Dick Hobbs · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Crime, Deviance, and Social Control #Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance #Crime Patterns and Interventions #Moral panic #Rhetoric #Criminology #Alliance #State (computer science) #Action (physics) #Organised crime #Political science #Sociology #Law
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/bjc/azn054
openalex publication_date 2008/08/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Moral panics are conventionally associated with the interpretations of youthful action imposed by powerful state or media forces. However, the concept is also useful in understanding more generally how social problems are constructed and presented. In this paper, we consider how a vague term such as ‘organized crime’ has emerged as a vehicle for exclusionary rhetorics in both the United States and Britain. While the origins of the organized crime moral panic in the United States can be located amongst moral entrepreneurs, the British version is marked by the outpourings of a right-wing media, and the influence of American foreign policy.