Module description
Mafias are generally seen as social ills and entirely parasitic on societies. However, academic research on organised crime offers a different perspective: Mafias arise in response to a grassroots demand for personal security and the protection of private property rights. Corrupt and authoritarian regimes often subject their citizens to insecurity and violence. Inhabitants of weak and failed states, populations in conflict areas, and citizens of countries in political transition often cannot rely on state provision of law and order. Even democratic countries that are generally peaceful and characterised by the rule of law have areas beyond state control (e.g. prisons and illicit markets), and groups that opt out of state provision of law and order (e.g. discriminated ethnic and religious minorities). In all these situations, organised criminal groups and Mafias can play an important role in ordering markets and often fulfil broader governance functions. Mafias therefore both supplement and undermine formal governance institutions. This course examines the dynamics of mafias, governance institutions, and political and economic transitions from a comparative perspective. When we understand the conditions that favour the establishment of Mafias in the first place, we are better able to design effective anti-Mafia interventions.
Assessment details
- Presentation (or 500-word essay plan) - Formative
- 3,000 word essay (worth 100% of module mark)
Educational aims & objectives
The goals of this module are as follows:
- To develop an in depth understanding of why mafia groups form, how they organize, and what they do.
- To develop critical awareness of what factors give rise to or increase the prevalence of mafia groups during transitions from autocratic to democratic regimes.
- To develop an in depth understanding of why some criminal groups evolve into mafias and other do not and why some mafia groups are capable of migrating to new regions and others are not.
- To hone an appreciation of the conditions in which criminal groups engage in insurgent and terrorist actions, such as the illegal trade of drugs, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and the plundering of natural resources.
- To discuss what the most efficient policy responses are to mafias.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the literature on organized crime and mafias
- Demonstrate familiarity with the broader literature on governance and institutions
- Discuss the political and economic situations that are conducive to mafia development and transplantation
- Demonstrate extensive knowledge on one of the topics covered in the course in the form of a 3000-word coursework essay
Teaching pattern
1-hour weekly lecture and 1-hour weekly seminar
Suggested reading list
There is no core textbook for this module. Students who want to read around the subject are encouraged to look at the work on Mafias by Diego Gambetta and Federico Varese, prison gangs by David Skarbek, and drug cartels by Benjamin Lessing.