Ongoing wars seen as gang warfare

Many contemporary wars are increasingly being analyzed through the lens of gang warfare, as the line between traditional state conflict and criminal violence grows blurred.international-review.icrc+2

Conflict at the Crime-War Intersection

Modern conflicts often involve a variety of actors beyond national militaries, including militias, criminal gangs, drug cartels, and even insurgents. These groups compete not only with states but also among themselves for control over territories, resources, and populations, using violence that can resemble high-intensity organized crime. The resulting insecurity is a central public concern, with entire communities affected by turf wars, extortion, and criminal governance.international-review.icrc

Organized Crime as Irregular Warfare

Scholarly analysis has increasingly treated organized crime as a form of irregular warfare, since both involve collective action, the use of violence, and broader effects on state legitimacy and stability. While their objectives differ (profit for criminals vs. political/ideological goals for insurgents), the tactics—corruption, intimidation, and territorial control—are remarkably similar.ndupress.ndu

“New Wars” and Blurred Categories

Research on “new wars” highlights that modern violence is often a mixture of political and criminal objectives. Gangs in countries like El Salvador wield de facto political power locally, blending motives of profit, power, and community control. This is recognized as a form of “political war,” sometimes called “asymmetric war” or “fourth-generation war,” where the distinction between state and non-state, military and criminal, breaks down.stabilityjournal+1

Operational Examples and Controversies

• In Brazil and Mexico, powerful gangs and cartels have conducted operations resembling military campaigns, including armed assaults on law enforcement, public infrastructure, and even attempts to influence elections.international-review.icrc

• Such entities sometimes challenge the state directly or create parallel power structures, leading to debate over whether these situations are best described as criminal violence or full-blown armed conflict.stabilityjournal+1

Summary Table: Key Similarities

Traditional War	Gang/Organized Crime Warfare
State or rebel armies international-review.icrc	Gangs, cartels, militias international-review.icrc+1
Control territory international-review.icrc	Control neighborhoods, regions international-review.icrc
Political or ideology-driven	Profit, but may exert political power
Use of force, military tactics	Violence, coercion, propaganda ndupress.ndu
Rivalry for legitimacy	Rivalry for impunity, economic power

Researchers increasingly conclude that the boundaries between war and organized crime are collapsing, leading many to view ongoing conflicts as a “contest for legitimacy” that plays out with the tools of both gang warfare and traditional military struggle.ndupress.ndu+3

1. http://international-review.icrc.org/articles/crime-wars-operational-perspectives-923
2. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3512123/organized-crime-as-irregular-warfare-strategic-lessons-for-assessment-and-respo/
3. https://stabilityjournal.org/articles/10.5334/sta.641
4. https://stabilityjournal.org/articles/10.5334/sta.at
5. https://giwps.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Gang-Violence-as-Armed-Conflict.pdf
6. https://www.un.org/en/un75/new-era-conflict-and-violence
7. https://nationalgangcenter.ojp.gov/survey-analysis/measuring-the-extent-of-gang-problems
8. https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/reviews-pdf/2023-06/editorial-organized-crime-in-armed-conflicts-923.pdf
9. https://geneva-academy.ch/galleries/today-s-armed-conflicts
10. https://www.ngcrc.com/introcha.html
11. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02684527.2024.2417454
12. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00223433241262912
13. https://www.thepeninsula.org.in/2023/07/23/from-civil-wars-to-gang-wars/
14. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24546352
15. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2023/05/17/gang-violence-latin-america-challenge-aid-sector
16. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/696649
17. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9448960/
18. https://justicepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/07-07_rep_gangwars_gc-ps-ac-jj.pdf
19. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-the-red-cross/article/crime-wars-operational-perspectives-on-criminal-armed-groups-in-mexico-and-brazil/2A788ED54A033AA299C5A473721F8716
20. https://mwi.westpoint.edu/from-street-fights-to-world-wars-what-gang-violence-can-teach-us-about-conflict/