Organized Crime: A Cultural Introduction 2nd ed

Author: Antonio Nicaso; Marcel Danesi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9781041002185
Published In: September 2025
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

List Price: $70.96

$68.83 Save $2.13 (3%)

Download Order Form

Add to Wishlist
| Add to Compare

Description
Contents

Details

This book aims to describe and demystify what makes organized criminal groups so culturally powerful. It examines their codes of conduct, initiation rites, secret communication methods, origin myths, symbols, and lifestyles that imbue them with the pride and nonchalance that go hand in hand with their criminal activities. Mobsters are everywhere in the movies, on television, on websites, and now in the Metaverse. Contemporary societies across the globe are fascinated by them. Why is this so? What features and constituents of organized criminal gangs make them so emotionally powerful—to themselves and others? These are the questions that have guided the writing of the second edition of this textbook, which is intended as an introduction to organized crime from the angle of cultural analysis.

Key topics included in this new edition:

An historic overview of organized crime, including the social, economic, and cultural conditions that favor its development
A description and character analysis of the type of people who make up organized criminal groups and the activities in which they engage
The symbols, rituals, codes, and languages that characterize criminal institutions
The relationship between traditional organized crime, cybercrime, and evolving forms of crime on the Dark Web and in the Metaverse
The traditional and changing roles of women in organized crime
The transnational operations of criminal groups
Media portrayals of organized crime
Policing responses to organized crime
The use of technologies by the organized criminal groups

This new edition includes case studies and offers an accessible, interdisciplinary approach to the subject of organized crime. It is essential reading for students engaged with organized crime across criminology, sociology, anthropology, and psychology.

1. What Is Organized Crime?, 2. Theories, 3. The Italian Mafias, 4. Other Criminal Organizations, 5. Organization, 6. The Players, 7. Codes, 8. The Made Man, 9. The Women, 10. Resources, 11. The Business Agenda, 12. Strategic Violence, 13. Symbols, Myths, Traditions, 14. Communications, 15. Hybrid Criminality, 16. The Age of AI, 17. A Gang Instinct, 18. Popular Culture, 19. Policing, 20. Epilogue