The Sicilian Mafia: The Business of Private Protection

by Diego Gambetta

In a society where trust is in short supply and democracy weak, the Mafia sells protection, a guarantee of safe conduct for parties to commercial transactions. Drawing on the confessions of eight Mafiosi, Diego Gambetta develops an elegant analysis of the economic and political role of the Sicilian Mafia.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crime, Italy, Sociology, Economics, History, Politics

346 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Diego Gambetta is a Professor of Sociology at Nuffield College of the University of Oxford.