ABSTRACT
Most descriptions of transnational policing initiatives in Europe begin with a discussion of Interpol – l'Organisation Internationale de Police Criminale, probably because it is the oldest framework for police co-operation. Its primary purpose is to promote mutual assistance between police organizations in separate countries and it does so by functioning as a communications network. This chapter explores the developments in transnational police cooperation in Europe, a field which gives ample room to test the postmodern thesis. It reviews some of the most important literature on this topic in order to ground the analysis pursued in subsequent sections in a concrete way. It also provides a guided tour of the myriad organizational forms that have been put in place in Europe to facilitate the translational police enterprise. The transnationalization of policing has also developed in other ways. Sociologists and others who theorize about the nature of police and policing often remark on the problematic nature of these terms.
