Conclusion: The Need to Develop the Code of the Street into a General Approach

Abstract

The final results of the study are interpreted in this concluding chapter and the research question is answered. The study shows that the code of the street theory has to be modified to explain youth violence in different cultural contexts, but does have general elements. Furthermore, street codes are shaped by micro-driven issues, like the personality of juveniles, as well as macro-factors, like the entire society. Also, street codes have to be placed into the broader picture of street culture, to understand spatial-related differences. A cross-cultural comparison of the single elements of the code of the street shows differences and similarities to the original theory, which will be reflected in the following chapter. The purpose is to evaluate if the code of the street is a general concept or, limited just to the US or only in part operational in all contexts. Our study started with the research question: Does the code of the street operate equally in different contexts than that of the US? The answer is no. We do see significant differences in the elements of the code of the street in the examined countries. However, the code of the street is a well-established concept used to analyze youth violence in risky neighborhoods and it is an important explanation for street violence occurring in African American neighborhoods in the US. Moreover, it has become a well-researched theoretical explanation to understand youth violence in other contexts too, but a reflection of its limitations was still lacking. These variances of the code in different countries and neighborhoods should not be underestimated, because it limits the range of the concept as it has been formulated. The established concept of the code of the street cannot explain them. As Anderson proposes, elements of the code hark back to the time of the Roman Empire. We are able to discuss now if there are elements that are stable across very different countries, and if so, we can propose too that over time and generation the relational circumstances are stable as well. However, one basic assumption of the street code approach did not turn up in our research. The binominal logic of "street" or "decent" families or individuals was not observable in any of the neighborhoods where we conducted our study. For example, juveniles in Dortmund or Berlin behave violently on the street but act decently in the family milieu. This ambiguity is more than just simple code-switching because decency is part of the street identity, even for highly violent individuals. The same is true for adolescents in Pakistan, in particular. However, juveniles in risky neighborhoods of South Africa were often not embedded in such tightly knit family relations in their communities, both because of broken families as well as high homicide rates. There, male juveniles need to develop another