Mapping Extortion From the Ground Up
Most organised crime research captures snapshots. GLODERS was built to capture dynamics — the way extortion rackets grow, adapt, fragment, and sometimes collapse under pressure from rivals, communities, or law enforcement.
The project combines agent-based computational modelling with systematic empirical data drawn from court records, ethnographic fieldwork, and cross-national case studies. The result is a framework that treats extortion not as a static phenomenon but as a living system shaped by rational actors, social norms, and institutional responses.
What the Research Covers
- Agent-based simulations of protection market formation and territorial competition
- Empirical typologies of extortion systems across Europe, Latin America, and East Asia
- Analysis of how civilian compliance and resistance shape racket sustainability
- Modelling the effects of anti-racket policy interventions over time
These aren't abstract exercises. The models are grounded in real criminal organisations — Camorra, Yakuza, street gangs — and calibrated against observed behaviour. When a simulation shows a protection market stabilising around a dominant actor, it reflects patterns documented in the field.
Browse the publications, datasets, and model documentation below, or visit the project overview to understand the broader context behind the work.