Gangsyklusen

Gangsyklusen is a concept in criminology and urban sociology that describes a recurring cycle in which street gangs form, build capacity for activity and violence, experience a phase of peak influence and territorial assertion, then enter a period of decline or reorganization, followed by renewed recruitment and resurgence. The term is used in discussions of urban unrest and youth violence and is not tied to a single jurisdiction or time period.

Origin and usage of the term are uncertain; it appears in some Scandinavian-language scholarship and in comparative criminology discussions, but there is no universally accepted definition. Analysts emphasize that gang activity is shaped by broader social, economic, and institutional contexts. Typical phases include emergence and recruitment; rapid expansion and escalation of violence; stabilization or plateau; intensified policing or community interventions; and eventual decline or replacement by new leadership, with possible cycles of rejuvenation.

Applications of the concept focus on explaining why violence can reappear after interventions and why prevention requires long-term, multiagency strategies. Critics warn that the model can oversimplify diverse gang trajectories and obscure structural factors such as poverty, education, housing, and discriminatory policing. There is also a concern that it may unintentionally promote determinism if cycles are treated as inevitable rather than malleable outcomes. Related concepts include the gang, cycle of violence, and social disorganization theory.