Overview

Defying the mafia with everyday acts of resistance For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation, Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies-from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality-and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia's to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally. Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.

Full Product Details

9781517916060

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Placing human experience at the center of collective action, Opposition by Imitation presents radically new directions for thinking about social movements. Christina Jerne captures both the fragility and strength of the struggle against mafia economies, powerfully demonstrating how anti-mafia activism opens up space for non-mafia relationships and economies to flourish.""—Kevin McDonald, Middlesex University  

Author Information

Christina Jerne is assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She is coeditor and translator of Against the Mafia: The Classic Italian Writings.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available