High-profile Mafia Murders: Understanding Targeted Assassinations Carried Out by Organized Crime in Italy

• In Event: Organized Crime, Violence and Politics

Abstract

Homicides of politicians, prosecutors and judges perpetrated by Mafiosi often make the media headlines, but they are rarely considered in the social science literature. This paper focuses on the three most prominent mafia groups in Italy – i.e., Cosa Nostra, Camorra and ‘Ndrangheta – and investigates the rationale(s) underpinning their use of high-profile homicides. The paper surveys the major theories that explain organized crime use of violence, and homicides in particular, and provides an explanation of high-profile homicides based on the interaction between: (a) groups’ organizational features, and (b) the law enforcement strategies of the state. On the one hand, only groups with higher levels of coordination have the capacity to seriously challenge the national government. On the other hand, understanding when mafia organizations choose violent means requires observing the structure of political opportunities available to them and the choices made by governments to adopt repressive strategies vis-à-vis more appeasing ones. Empirical analysis is conducted through an original dataset of mafia homicides carried out since the late 19th Century in the regional strongholds of the three organizations: Sicily, Campania and Calabria.

Authors

• Maurizio Catino, University of Milan - Bicocca (Italy)

• Francesco Moro, University of Milan - Bicocca (Italy)