1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910253319503321

Autore

Coluccello Rino

Titolo

Challenging the Mafia Mystique [[electronic resource] ] : Cosa Nostra from Legitimisation to Denunciation / / by Rino Coluccello

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London : , : Palgrave Macmillan UK : , : Imprint : Palgrave Macmillan, , 2016

ISBN

1-137-28050-6

Edizione

[1st ed. 2016.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XI, 260 p.)

Disciplina

364.10609

Soggetti

Literature, Modern—20th century

Organized crime

Crime—Sociological aspects

Sociology

Criminology

Twentieth-Century Literature

Organized Crime

Crime and Society

Sociology, general

Criminology and Criminal Justice, general

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Sommario/riassunto

The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is one of the most intriguing criminal phenomena in the world. It is an unparalleled organised criminal grouping that over almost two centuries has been able not only to successfully permeate licit and illicit economy, politics and civil society, but also to influence and exercise authoritative power over both the underworld and the upper-world. This criminal phenomenon has been a captivating conundrum for scholars of different disciplines who have tried to explain with various paradigms the reasons behind the emergence and consolidation of the mafia.    Challenging the Mafia Mystique provides an analysis of the changes the Sicilian mafia has undergone, from legitimisation to denunciation. Rino Coluccello



highlights how, from the very emergence of the organised criminal groups in Sicily, a culture existed that was protective and tolerant of the mafia. He argues that the various conceptualisations of the mafia that dominated the public and scientific debate in the nineteenth and more than half of the twentieth century created a mystique, which legitimised the mafia and contributed to their success. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of organised crime, Italian politics and Italian literature.