Panics without Borders: How Global Sporting Events Drive Myths about

In this review of Panics without Borders, Gregory Mitchell takes a measured look at the recurring moral panic that surrounds mega sporting events and claims about sex trafficking. Readers who want evidence-based analysis will find the book valuable because Mitchell combines extensive fieldwork in Brazil with interviews across six countries to show that sensational numbers are unsupported and that policy responses often harm vulnerable people. The book is best read by scholars, policy makers, and informed general readers seeking a clear challenge to alarmist narratives.

Key Features

• Fieldwork-driven analysis: Mitchell uses extensive on-the-ground research in Brazil to ground broader claims about global events and trafficking myths.
• Comparative interviews: Interviews with sex workers, policymakers, missionaries, and activists in multiple countries provide varied perspectives rather than a single narrative.
• Event-focused inquiry: The book examines the specific contexts of FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games panics to show patterns in rhetoric and enforcement.
• Critique of statistics: Mitchell carefully interrogates widely cited figures and demonstrates how baseless statistical claims shape policy and public perception.
• Focus on harm: The analysis foregrounds how policing and moral campaigns increase police violence against sex workers even when trafficking does not rise.

Who It's For

This book is ideal for readers in social sciences, gender studies, public policy, and activists who want a documented critique of how rhetoric around sex trafficking is produced during global sporting events. It suits those who prefer qualitative research and comparative interviews over sensationalized accounts.

Readers seeking a how-to manual for anti-trafficking operations or detailed quantitative modeling of trafficking flows should look elsewhere, because the strength of this work lies in qualitative fieldwork and critique rather than exhaustive statistical projection.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Well-researched fieldwork offers concrete, localized evidence that challenges widely repeated claims.
• Comparative interviews provide nuance by including the voices of sex workers and multiple stakeholders.
• The focus on policy consequences highlights less visible harms such as increased police violence.

Cons

• The book emphasizes qualitative critique and may not satisfy readers wanting extensive quantitative data or predictive models.

Specifications

Our Verdict

Panics without Borders is a focused, evidence-driven critique that is worth reading for anyone examining how moral panics shape public policy around global events. Its qualitative fieldwork and comparative interviews make it particularly valuable for researchers and advocates who need documented counterarguments to alarmist claims.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the book claim trafficking never happens?
Answer. The book argues trafficking claims tied to sporting events are unsupported and that policing responses, not event-driven trafficking, are the primary documented harm.

Which countries does the author research?
Answer. Mitchell conducted fieldwork in Brazil and interviewed stakeholders in Russia, Qatar, Japan, the UK, and South Africa.

Is this a statistical study?
Answer. No. The book relies on qualitative fieldwork and interviews to critique widely cited statistics rather than to produce new large-scale quantitative models.