Evolution Of The Sicilian Mafia

Origins of the Sicilian Mafia

There have been multiple theoretical approaches to study the development and evolution of gangs and mafia organizations, Fiorentini (1997) and Bandiera (2005). Gambetta (1993) suggests that the mafia is an organization that provides private protection, under this idea, one would imagine that how much mafia activity happens in a place is directly dependent on the demand of private protection and the supply of it. Under this framework, it also follows that the need for private protection exists because public protection may be inadequate or non-existent.
In most of literature it is widely purported that the abundance of natural resources is a boon, however, we also find various examples where it has the detrimental
The transformation from a feudal system to a parliamentary unified state did not bring about any change in the allocation of land nor did it result in land being used in more productive manners, Blok (1969). Production processes or lands that were in fact productive were openly under attack from local criminals and gangs. As it would be in a situation with crumbling law enforcement and rising threats against property, local landowners and the public created a demand for private forms of protection. Wherever there is demand, there is supply; and the supply of individuals who were skillful and experienced in coercion and violence was ample and abundant. Former police officers, army, con men and gang members started to line up for the feudal barons in search of job opportunities to provide private protection. Individuals with a great reputation in providing protection and a history of being violent perpetrators were widely spoken of and were in a good position to be hired, this led to more individuals looking to build their reputation much like one builds their curriculum vitae. In effect, violence was democratized and turned in to a trade. Furthermore, while reputed gangsters could easily find work, if they could not, they could use their intimidating powers to create their own demand by intimidating potential
We find the Sicilian Mafia originated from the fallout of a society that did not transition well from its feudalistic and monarchial history into parliamentary state government. The failing of the transition into parliamentary system may be in part due to feudalistic barons having strong ties or being directly responsible for governing the people. We cannot conclusively level the failings of the parliamentary system as failings of a democratic system when the Sicilian government was largely controlled by feudalistic barons themselves. Borne out of this institutional disarray was the need for land and property owners to find private protection. This need was further amplified by the rise of the sulphur and citrus industries in Sicily.
The Sicilian mafia, to this day, is an influential force in the government and economy of Italy with strong lobbies and control over a vast amount property, productions processes, capital and institution, at a time when the very reasons that created the need for the mafia (private protection) is no long required as Italy has grown into an effective democratic state with credible institutions. However, the Sicilian mafia continues to dominate and control the country’s