Vincenzo Scalia 
Crime, Networks and Power 
Transformation of Sicilian Cosa Nostra

This book develops the idea that the Cosa Nostra Sicilian mafia likes and,  more than any other criminal organization, follows the patterns of capitalist transformation. The author presents analysis of the mafia under post-fordism capitalism, showing how they rely on increasingly more flexible networks for reasons of both cost and dodging police control, as well as changing their core businesses in relation to the risk that some activities, such as drug trafficking, are likely to incur.






Combining sociology, criminology and labour sociology, the book provides an interpretation of Cosa Nostra which focuses on the connection between legal and illegal economies and politics, thus doing away with the idea that organized crime is always an external entity to society. An authoritative and original study, this book will be of particular interest to scholars of criminal justice, politics and economics.

Table of Content

Chapter 1. The Research of the Giuseppe Impastato Research Centre on the Mafia Phenomenon.- Chapter 2. The Mafia in the Post-Fordist Era.- Chapter 3. Organised Crime or White Collar Crime?.- Chapter 4. The Sicilian Mafia under Postfordism.- Chapter 5. The Expansion of the Mafia in the Romagna Riviera.- Chapter 6. A Marriage of Necessity

About the author

Vincenzo Scalia is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Winchester, UK. His interests range from criminological theory to organized crime and also include police culture, urban security and terrorism.