Introduction

The main thesis concerns the possibility of nation-states using organized crime factions to achieve strategic and geopolitical goals, both internally and internationally. In the United States, some behaviours and aspects were very surprising. For example, a huge anti-Russian sentiment was observed. In most interviews, Russia was viewed as a great threat to the United States, not only because of its status as a rival nation but also because most Americans view Russia as a criminal state. The chapter focuses on the United States which show how Americans quickly developed their geopolitical capabilities following World War II by dealing with irregular actors while waging a proxy war against the Soviet Union. The types of capital shown in Pierre Bourdieu’s Forms of Capital, when inserted into the territorial studies of Ratzel, explain the relations between central state authority and local or regional powers, including irregular and marginalised ones.