New Books in Western European Studies Anna Sergi, "How to Recognize the Mafia Abroad: Critical Notes on ‘ndrangheta Mobility" (Policy Press, 2025)
Jan 12, 2026
Professor Anna Sergi, a criminologist from Calabria, dives deep into the complexities of recognizing the ‘ndrangheta abroad. She discusses the mafia's transnational behaviors and challenges stereotypes linking ethnicity to criminality. Anna critiques the biases in law enforcement methods, emphasizing the significance of kinship and reputation in mafia structures. She shares practical tools for identifying organized crime members without bias and explores how values of honor are passed through generations. This enlightening conversation sheds light on the ever-evolving nature of organized crime.
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Ubiquity Over Mobility
- Mafia ubiquity reframes mobility by focusing on the person rather than just criminal flows.
- Ubiquity combines transnationalism, translocalism, and transculturation to explain how mafiosi exist in multiple places and identities.
The Ethnicity Trap
- Ethnicity is a trap that creates deterministic assumptions linking people to mafias by origin or surname.
- Sergi warns this amplifies mafia reputation and misleads law enforcement and public perception.
Resentment Travels Through Diaspora
- Radicalized resentment explains why mafias recruit and persist by framing the state as an enemy.
- That resentment travels via diasporic family networks, spreading culture and recruitment abroad.
