Italian Organised Crime: Mafia Associations and Criminal Enterprises

Author: Paoli, Letizia

Source: Global Crime, Volume 6, Number 1, February, 2004 , pp. 19-31(13)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

The article reviews the different forms of organised crime in Italy. To begin with, it focuses on the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta, Italy's two largest and most powerful mafia associations. With their centuries-old histories, articulated structures, sophisticated ritual and symbolic apparatuses and claim to exercise a political dominion, these associations have few parallels in the world of organised crime. In its second section, the article considers other groups and networks that are--with varying degrees of justification--also routinely described as organised crime: these range from the Neapolitan camorra to Apulian organised crime and the so-called new 'foreign mafie' and other criminal entrepreneurs. Whereas the new Italian and foreign players are likely to expand their activities on Italy's illegal markets, the future of Cosa Nostra and the 'Ndrangheta is more uncertain and largely depends on the decisions made by the public administrations.

Keywords: Organised Crime; Italy; Mafia; Cosa Nostra; 'Ndrangheta; camorra

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/1744057042000297954

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