How have crime, conflict, and violence shaped the social structure of neighbourhoods across diverse spatial and temporal landscapes in marginalised urban communities? To address to this central question, this study examines the socio‐political dynamics of New York City and Palermo, as well as the role of authoritarian actors, by juxtaposing different historical periods and contrasting the influences of political institutions with extra‐legal entities such as gangs and mafias. Utilising visual images, archival documents, and geographical mapping, the study introduces the concept of ‘justice‐based power vacuums’. This novel theoretical concept elucidates the mechanisms through which coercive power fosters social environments susceptible to extra‐legal domination, effectively entrapping vulnerable groups, be they ethnic or racial minorities or economically disadvantaged groups. I argue that while crime, conflict, and violence, especially under the auspices of gangs and mafias, often become the focal point, it is the obscured role of political authorities that stands as the genesis of such complex social problems. The present comparative historical social research indicates that recognising and addressing these obscured political influences is essential for a holistic understanding and subsequent mitigation of the structural challenges in urban social life that create deprived neighbourhoods across time and space similarly and perpetuate marginalisation in these communities.

中文翻译：

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社会边缘的犯罪和暴力：基于正义的权力真空如何造成贫困社区

犯罪、冲突和暴力如何塑造边缘化城市社区中不同时空景观的社区结构？为了解决这个核心问题，本研究通过并置不同的历史时期并将政治机构与法外实体（例如，帮派和黑手党。该研究利用视觉图像、档案文件和地理地图，引入了“基于正义的权力真空”的概念。这一新颖的理论概念阐明了强制权力营造容易受到法外统治的社会环境的机制，有效地陷入了弱势群体，无论是民族或种族少数还是经济弱势群体。我认为，虽然犯罪、冲突和暴力，特别是在帮派和黑手党的支持下，常常成为焦点，但政治当局的模糊作用才是这些复杂社会问题的根源。目前的比较历史社会研究表明，认识和解决这些模糊的政治影响对于全面理解和随后缓解城市社会生活中的结构性挑战至关重要，这些挑战在时间和空间上创造了类似的贫困社区，并使这些社区的边缘化永久化。