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The Dark Side of Globalisation pp 123–145Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Traditional Organised Crime on the Move: Exploring the Globalisation of the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta

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Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

The clans of the ‘ndrangheta, from the Southern Italian region of Calabria, have become the wealthiest and most powerful Italian mafia groups, allegedly present in over 25 countries around the world, undisputed oligarchs of the cocaine market, and reliable criminal partners for other criminal groups around the world. Their presence in Europe, Canada, the USA, and Australia, mainly, has been certainly facilitated by the mass migration from Calabria in the past century while current criminal relationships are rekindled thanks to the availability of faster communication and means of travels. Moreover, the Calabrian region is exceptionally challenged in its development and in the implementation of innovation strategies, which is the cause and effect of the mafia presence. The ‘ndrangheta clans are poly-crime criminal networks and they engage in a variety of criminal and semi-legal activities, from illegal waste dumping to online gambling, from European Union (EU) fraud to the flower industry, and from money laundering to renewable energies. The purpose of this chapter is to present the ‘ndrangheta clans in today’s forms, by looking at some of their international activities and their sources of economic power by specifically focusing on the way the clans exploit local economy to foster their global reach.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Investigative Antimafia Directorate (DIA), I Rep., No.125/I/IIIDiv/H14, Prot. 020464 Roma 17.05.2011.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Essex University, Colchester, UK

    Anna Sergi

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  1. Anna Sergi
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Correspondence to Anna Sergi .

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  1. European & International Studies, King’s College London, London, UK

    Leila Simona Talani  & Roberto Roccu  & 

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Sergi, A. (2019). Traditional Organised Crime on the Move: Exploring the Globalisation of the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta. In: Talani, L.S., Roccu, R. (eds) The Dark Side of Globalisation. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05117-4_5

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