ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly sketches the overall context of the book and its purpose. It introduces readers to the idea of an ‘international crime decline’ and outlines its basic premise before identifying the dominant data source underpinning this contemporary discourse. Subsequently a number of probing questions are posed, stressing the need to investigate and analyse the validity of this alleged ‘international crime decline’. The chapter also outlines the theoretical framework upon which the book draws, highlighting its ultra-realist leanings. Before indicating the structure and content of the pages that follow, a brief note on methodology is offered.
