Samenvatting

This article considers the concept of ‘disposable army’ as a recent addition to the agendas of some policing units countering organized crime in the Western world. The idea of a disposable army comes from counterterrorism and national security languages, but it also echoes studies on disposable youth, their delinquency and vulnerability. The author sketches the main lines of arguments on both the securitisation of organized crime and the vulnerability of disadvantaged and disposable children and young people. Also, she reflects on the concept of disposable army in organized crime by presenting starting observations for a research agenda on this subject and by pointing out how unpacking this concept, and its implications, indeed means to understand how relationships, values, and resilience work in the so-called ‘underworld’.