Books by Alfredo Schulte-Bockholt

This book deals with the political corruption which infested Peru during the Fujimori years (1990-2000). The work is not about petty corruption, the small bribe paid to the underpaid police officer to avoid being booked for a minor traffic violation, but addresses the corruption of the powerful. Elites rely on corruption, and particularly in repressive regimes the practice is the most important tool of 'criminal governance'. The author utilizes the concept of the protection racket developed by Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno from the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory to explain the links between political, economic, and societal elites in Fujimori's Peru such as the military, political parties, multinational corporations, or conservative groups within the Catholic Church.

More than simply a study of the mafia, Alfredo Schulte-Bockholt's work argues that collaboration between political science and criminology is critical to understanding the real nature of organized crime and its power. Schulte-Bockholt looks at specific case studies from Asia, Latin America, and Europe as he develops a theoretical discussion-drawing on the thought of Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Antonio Gramsci-of the intimate connections between criminal groups and elite structures. Ranging from an historical discussion of the world drug economy to an examination of the evolution of organized crime in the former Soviet Union, the book extends into a consideration of the possible future development of organized crime in the age of advanced globalization.