The current proposal is the outcome of my doctoral research, which focuses on the history of ‘Ndrangheta in Reggio Calabria’s province, from 1945 to 1970. My contribution will concentrate on the decade 1960-1970, during which the ‘ndrangheta associations underwent a remarkable growth in terms of use of violence, influence in the society and economical status. This evolution also changed the way in which ‘Ndrangheta was perceived by the public opinion, gaining the status of ‘mafia’ and it prompted scholars (Ciconte 1992, Barone 1990) to use Polanyi’s expression of «great transformation» to define it. The goal is to highlight the aporias present in the existing literature and to show the possible contributions that could come from some new approaches in the historiography of organized crime. In fact, existing literature (Ciconte 1992, 1996; Dickie 2011, Gratteri-Nicaso 2006) had to cope with a significant scarcity of sources. More importantly, also, it has not taken in account the new methodological approaches without whom it is not possible to correctly interpretate the way in which the transformation of the Sixties has happened. On one hand, indeed, studies like those of Benigno (2011, 2015), Kalifa (1995, 2005), Barak (1994) or Wiener (1990) showed how the social identity of the criminal originates from the relations among the phenomenon, the current concept of crime in the society and broader political and cultural dynamics on a national level. On the other hand, the works of Coco (2017, 2020, 2021) not only exposed how much the organization of polices forces influences the emersion of mafia phenomena but, also, it displayed the lack of knowledge we have on the evolutions and methods underwent by the polices forces in the first decades of the republic. Both these issues are neglected in the existing literature. During my research I tried to address them through, firstly, the acquisition of original judicial sources and, secondly, by employing journalistic and cultural sources not previously used.
The great transformation of ‘Ndrangheta (1960-1970): old problems and new perspectives / R. Clemenza. ((Intervento presentato al 24. convegno Conference on Global Organized Crime tenutosi a Online nel 2023.
The great transformation of ‘Ndrangheta (1960-1970): old problems and new perspectives
R. Clemenza
2023
Abstract
The current proposal is the outcome of my doctoral research, which focuses on the history of ‘Ndrangheta in Reggio Calabria’s province, from 1945 to 1970. My contribution will concentrate on the decade 1960-1970, during which the ‘ndrangheta associations underwent a remarkable growth in terms of use of violence, influence in the society and economical status. This evolution also changed the way in which ‘Ndrangheta was perceived by the public opinion, gaining the status of ‘mafia’ and it prompted scholars (Ciconte 1992, Barone 1990) to use Polanyi’s expression of «great transformation» to define it. The goal is to highlight the aporias present in the existing literature and to show the possible contributions that could come from some new approaches in the historiography of organized crime. In fact, existing literature (Ciconte 1992, 1996; Dickie 2011, Gratteri-Nicaso 2006) had to cope with a significant scarcity of sources. More importantly, also, it has not taken in account the new methodological approaches without whom it is not possible to correctly interpretate the way in which the transformation of the Sixties has happened. On one hand, indeed, studies like those of Benigno (2011, 2015), Kalifa (1995, 2005), Barak (1994) or Wiener (1990) showed how the social identity of the criminal originates from the relations among the phenomenon, the current concept of crime in the society and broader political and cultural dynamics on a national level. On the other hand, the works of Coco (2017, 2020, 2021) not only exposed how much the organization of polices forces influences the emersion of mafia phenomena but, also, it displayed the lack of knowledge we have on the evolutions and methods underwent by the polices forces in the first decades of the republic. Both these issues are neglected in the existing literature. During my research I tried to address them through, firstly, the acquisition of original judicial sources and, secondly, by employing journalistic and cultural sources not previously used.
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
