Christina Jerne – författare

Defying the mafia with everyday acts of resistance   For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation, Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating.   Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies-from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality-and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia’s to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally.   Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition.     Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.

Defying the mafia with everyday acts of resistance   For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation, Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating.   Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies-from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality-and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia’s to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally.   Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition.     Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.

This collection of classic texts offers a longitudinal overview of the Italian mafia through the eyes of those who have questioned it in the past 144 years. It presents English translations of the key works of, among others, judges (Giovanni Falcone), political theorists (Gaetano Mosca), trade unionists (Pio La Torre), journalists (Giuseppe Fava), generals (Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa), and priests (Don Diana). These critical voices have been foundational to shaping the way Italian culture, policies and legislation relate to the mafia phenomenon. They represent different political standpoints, from elitism to communism, as well as vastly different times, from post-feudalism to hyper globalization. This book offers a rare (and hitherto untranslated) insight into, not only the history of the Italian mafia and its conceptualizations, but also into the movement against the mafia, which is one of the longest lasting (and most unrecognized) European social movements. It provides a usefulhistorical archive of Italian political and sociological thought and a diversity of perspectives through which to tackle a complex and increasingly global criminological issue, making it relevant for those interested in Italian studies, political theory, sociology, criminology, legal studies, and history.

This collection of classic texts offers a longitudinal overview of the Italian mafia through the eyes of those who have questioned it in the past 144 years. It presents English translations of the key works of, among others, judges (Giovanni Falcone), political theorists (Gaetano Mosca), trade unionists (Pio La Torre), journalists (Giuseppe Fava), generals (Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa), and priests (Don Diana). These critical voices have been foundational to shaping the way Italian culture, policies and legislation relate to the mafia phenomenon. They represent different political standpoints, from elitism to communism, as well as vastly different times, from post-feudalism to hyper globalization. This book offers a rare (and hitherto untranslated) insight into, not only the history of the Italian mafia and its conceptualizations, but also into the movement against the mafia, which is one of the longest lasting (and most unrecognized) European social movements. It provides a usefulhistorical archive of Italian political and sociological thought and a diversity of perspectives through which to tackle a complex and increasingly global criminological issue, making it relevant for those interested in Italian studies, political theory, sociology, criminology, legal studies, and history.