Marginalization and criminalization has particularly affected youth from the suburban periphery of Europe, Africa, the Americas and beyond. The number of juvenile citizens who, from adolescence on, have continually contact with the criminal justice system is constantly growing. On the one hand, to carve out a living on crime seems to figure as one of the resorts for those who have not managed to "escape" what is experienced as a context of limited opportunities for young citizens within their countries of origin. On the other hand, crime and violence are not only a means of subsistence chosen out of a lack of opportunities, they have also become a way of life, linked to a "culture of marginality" and certain forms of artistic expression, like gangsta rap. The panel seeks to discuss the rise of youth marginalization and youth incarceration in different countries, within the present context of late liberal and right wing policies, analyzing, among others, strategies of repression adopted by governments and the interconnectedness of youth criminalization and internationally organized illicit economies like the traffic in drugs and arms. However, we also aim to understand youth marginality as a "site of resistance" and explore the communicational aspects of crime and youth violence.