Bridging cultures, breaking stereotypes

What triggered your interest in studying organized crime, particularly mafiatype groups such as the ‘ndrangheta?

My interest in studying the ‘ndrangheta is multilayered. My father was an important influence. He was a journalist in Calabria for the newspaper La Repubblica. For many years, he reported on the horrors and bloodshed of ‘ndrangheta feuds and kidnappings in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. His experience clearly shaped my understanding of what was going on in Calabria when I was growing up. My second drive was definitely linked to my studies. I studied law in the north of Italy, where no one knew about the ‘ndrangheta. Later, when I moved away from Italy and went to London to study for a master’s in law, the idea of the mafia was very much the stereotypical notion linked to America and The Godfather movies. It was very different from my Calabrian experience. The marginality that Calabria had in the minds of many when it came to the mafia was eventually the reason why I decided to devote my research to this topic.

Your research brings to mind the Hydra, that multi-headed Greek monster battled by Heracles, which, as soon as one head is cut off, grows another. Would the Hydra be an apt metaphor for how mafia-type groups operate regionally and globally? And if so, what are the key factors that contribute to that type of adaptability?

Yes, the Hydra would be an apt metaphor for mafia groups of Calabrian origin both in Italy and abroad. I have defined the ‘ndrangheta as a polycephalous organized crime group with many heads: the first head being the criminal one, the visible one, mostly drugs and money laundering; the second head being the behavioral one, the one that unfortunately attempts to manipulate ethnic solidarity and the migrant community; the third one is organizational, which is generally invisible to the common eye. The key factors that contribute to the adaptability of the ‘ndrangheta worldwide are the particular links with some of the most conservative cultural elements of Calabria and the exploitation and ability to twist such cultural elements for personal gain abroad as they do in Calabria. More importantly, the ‘ndrangheta is currently focused on the transnational drug trade. This is because it has the resources and the connections to run risks that many other organized crime groups today are not able to absorb.

What are common myths or misconceptions about today’s mafia-type groups that you have encountered in law enforcement agencies and the media?

The most common myth about the ‘ndrangheta today is the so-called ethnicity trap. This trap is the misconception that shared ethnicity is a deterministic drive that brings people with common origins together in organized crime. Understanding the distinction and boundaries between what seems like cultural determinism and the necessary individual agency to truly belong to the ‘ndrangheta presents a challenge. Law enforcement finds it difficult to understand how the Calabrian migrant community in Australia is itself a victim of the involvement of some elements of the community in mafia-type organized crime.
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Is explaining cultural identity an important aspect of understanding the dynamics of organized crime groups?

The experience of growing up in a certain family, with its values and norms, does influence the inter-generational evolution of communities and personal decisions and identity. These affect behavior and collective identity, in turn. While the concept of culture is very difficult to define, it is extremely important to understand how beliefs, norms, and traditions affect behaviors. Behaviors— both individual and collective—are what effectively shape intent, choices, and risk-taking and eventually also criminal intent, choices, and risk taking. So yes, understanding identity and keeping an eye on the changes in identity, especially within migrant communities, is, in my opinion, an important element in identifying possible evolution in organized crime behaviors.

Can you discuss any emerging trends or shifts in the dynamics of organized crime that you’ve observed in recent years?

The ‘ndrangheta is a mafia group; it is more than just organized crime. It is a system of power that feeds on power and wealth to maintain the status quo for a few. The ‘ndrangheta is a conservative social actor, and as such, I do not see many changes in the way they behave, especially in terms of their power-seeking. However, intergenerational changes, including technological advancement and the consolidation of education as a driver for personal choices and individual responsibility, especially within migrant groups, are going to pose an important challenge for the transnational grip of the ‘ndrangheta clans. Unless they adapt to these changes, which in the past they have done to some extent, some of the current intergenerational challenges might mean a very different future for some clans of this group. Organized crime, more generally, will not need to change as much as long as capitalist economies offer gaps in the market and criminalization of certain industries, including the drug trade. As long as there is criminalization and a gap—that is, a demand—organized crime will profit from certain illicit markets.

Can you discuss your current research?

The project is funded by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust in the UK. We are exploring the world of Italian/Calabrian migrant families in various parts of Australia, the changes these families face across generations, and the challenges of defining and maintaining transcultural identities. These are identities characterized by cultural stratifications. The goal of the project is to explain how the migrant and family experience can help define the ‘ndrangheta as a “deviant” version of the “common” Calabrian/Italian migrant culture in the same way as it is a sub-cultural, twisted product of Calabrian/Italian culture back in Italy. This, in turn, will help us fight the stigma about the mafia around Calabrian and Italian communities.
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Images provided by Anna Sergi