Abstract
In the past decade, the attention to the Calabrian mafia, the ‘ndrangheta, has been rekindled everywhere in the world. On the one hand, Italian attention to the phenomenon has increased; on the other hand, the mobility of the Calabrian clans has been the object of scrutiny in view of the clan’s wealth and ability to commit transnational criminal activities. This has also fed the presumption that (alleged) offenders of Calabrian origins around the world must belong to, and replicate the structure of, the ‘ndrangheta clans, also down under. This contribution will be a reflection on the difficulties and the complexities of a journey into researching the ‘ndrangheta in Australia from a criminological–anthropological perspective, in consideration of—but in contrast with—the mythical figures associated with the Calabrian mafia and its illicit global markets. Some of the difficulties, as well as some of the mistakes that I have made in this research, because of the involuntary (and disorganized) nature of the ethnography, directly question the narrative of the illegal global reach of this mafia and provide methodological reflections and lessons for criminological ethnographies.
Highlights
In the past decade, international media and popular culture have perpetuated the presumption that criminals of Calabrian origins around the world must belong to, and replicate theIn this article, I will share my own reflection process, which led me to research the Calabrian mafia in Australia, from 2014 until today, from a perspective that eventually differed from the intended research project
This contribution will be a reflection on the difficulties and the complexities of a journey into researching the Calabrian mafia in Australia through an epistemological and/or criminological analysis, in consideration of— but in contrast with—the mythical figures associated with the Calabrian mafia and its illicit global markets
In an attempt to generalize some of the findings, approximation of data becomes the norm. This is justified by the awareness that investigations and intelligence on these activities are hindered by the secret and covert nature of dirty money and organized crime more generally (Von Lampe, 2016). When it comes to Australia, I have argued in my previous work that there is in Australia a mafia-type organized crime group that is connected, historically and for its organizational features, to the Calabrian mafia, but that one must go beyond the ethnicity of the phenomenon to understand how the Australian ‘ndrangheta works
Summary
International media and popular culture have perpetuated the presumption that criminals of Calabrian origins around the world must belong to, and replicate theIn this article, I will share my own reflection process, which led me to research the Calabrian mafia in Australia, from 2014 until today, from a perspective that eventually differed from the intended research project. When it comes to Australia, I have argued in my previous work that there is in Australia a mafia-type organized crime group that is connected, historically and for its organizational features, to the Calabrian mafia, but that one must go beyond the ethnicity of the phenomenon to understand how the Australian ‘ndrangheta works.
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