Organised crime, state and the legitimate monopoly of violence

The concept of ‘legitimate monopoly of violence’, so much related to the nature of states, is also key to understand their capabilities. The use of force by the government is sometimes considered illegitimate even in modern democracies, and sometimes its monopoly is contested by more or less legitimate actors, notably organised crime. This chapter discusses the particular relationship between state and organised crime through the lenses of the legitimate monopoly of violence. It explores the role of violence in the appearance and development of states, in presence of both productive and appropriative activities; it then looks at organised crime as illegal organisations often claiming the legitimate use of that violence; and it finally studies the fight between states and criminal organisations for the monopoly of violence.