Against The Mafia

This book brings together the classic texts written in Italian about and against Mafia in the past 150 years. Translated from an Italian book, this collection presents English translations of these key texts for the first time and supplements them with additional content including: the editor's new introduction which provides a contextual and cultural history, four additional chapters, and a new conclusion which connects the classic and newer research. The selected essays have been foundational in shaping Italian culture, policies and legislation. The contributors' voices represent different political standpoints, from strictly conservative and rebelliously liberal but they also testify a wide array of standpoints that speak from different social positions. This book helps to trace a genealogy of Mafia conceptualisations, upon which many contemporary examinations of mafia and these types of criminal groups are based. It provides a useful historical archive of Italian political and sociological thought and a set of diverse perspectives through which to tackle a criminological issue. It speaks to those interested in Italian studies, political theory, sociology, criminology, legal studies, and history.