IFCO 2755 - State, Organized Crime and the Mafia: Interactions and Conflicts

This course aims to untangle the nature of state, organized crime (OC) and the mafia, and highlights their interactions and conflict. Ultimately, we will show that these three phenomena exist on a shared continuum. We first discuss existing definitions of OC. We then present a framework that distinguishes three key activities of OC groups: Production, Trade and Governance. We will ask: How do groups engaged in (criminal) Production, Trade or Governance differ from each other? Do they each have a different organizational structure, members with different ‘professional' profile and skills? The second part of the course focuses on Governance, with a particular emphasis on traditional mafias and their state-like nature. We will discuss a broad range of phenomena in depth: from cybercrime to the international trade of drugs from Colombia to Europe, mafias, mafia states, and the interactions and conflict among the last two. Breaking traditional disciplinary boundaries between the social sciences and adopting a global outlook, the course is multidisciplinary and draws upon concepts from political theory, industrial economics, political economy, and Social Network Analysis, as well as on the history and sociology of different countries, such as Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

Eva BOSSUYT,Federico VARESE

Cours magistral seul

English

This is an in-depth course. The course is deeply rooted in academic research, and it hopes to attract students from a wide and diverse range of backgrounds, including political science, sociology, economics, and journalism.

Spring 2023-2024

The course is assessed by a midterm exam and a final paper. 1) The midterm (40%) will be based on exam questions to be answered by the candidates in an exam lasting three hours. // 2) The final essay (60%) consists in the production of one assessed essay written unsupervised and unaided, to be written after the end of the course. The courser provider will supply three essay questions. Candidates will answer ONE of these questions. The essay must be no less than 3,500 words and no more than 5,000 words (inclusive of footnotes but excluding bibliography and appendices). An accurate word count must be declared on the first page of the essay. Students may not approach the course provider for clarification on essay questions or help with or feedback on the essay. Students are expected to draw on course readings, whilst they may be rewarded for drawing upon additional works. Candidates should take seriously the word limits imposed (both upper and lower). If the word limit is exceeded, then the Examiners may decide not to mark the work; and if they do proceed then the mark may be reduced. Similarly, those who write less than the minimum word limit may be penalized. Throughout the course, strict academic honesty rules apply.