Abstract
Criminal organizations and organized crime are phenomena that have entered public imagination through media representations and mythologized narratives. In this chapter, we survey both lay and scientific definitions of criminal organization. Although generally portrayed as alien and foreign threats, socio-scientific analyses emphasize the social embeddedness of these groups and, more recently, their ability to pursue and exert political power. Conversely, communities’ compliance to criminal organizations is described using the notion of “omertà.” We introduce and define this important concept and examine some of its early accounts. We contend that conceptualizations of omertà equaling this notion to passivity or fear neglect important aspects of this phenomenon. A different account drawing on the notion of legitimization is needed.
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Travaglino, G.A., Drury, L. (2020). Understanding Organized Crime. In: The Secret Power of Criminal Organizations. SpringerBriefs in Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44161-6_2
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