Search

Sweden represents an unlikely case for the development of mafia-like organisations: the state is strong with a relatively well-functioning legal system; the political institutions are stable, trust in government is widespread, bureaucratic ethics are strong, and associational life is vibrant. Yet, in a relatively short time, starting in the early 1980s, organised crime has established its power structure in Södertälje, a medium-sized city near Stockholm. In September 2014, the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm confirmed the existence of a criminal organisation that had an extensive power structure with ramifications into politics and the welfare sector. This chapter analyses the so-called ‘Syriac mafia’ and its relationship with the welfare state and politics at the local level in the city of Södertälje.

This article analyses the validity of the standard question, ‘Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted, or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?’. It builds on unique material, including survey responses (N = 356) and letters (N = 28) from students aged 18–19 years, collected by the author in seven secondary schools in Stockholm. The results suggest that the standard question is less valid as a measure on generalized trust than is commonly assumed in trust research. Rather than referring to trust in people in general, about a third of the responses expressed themes related to rational trust, that is, trust is domain-specific and person-specific. Systematic variation between different school contexts indicates that the standard question reflects social trust in a limited social sphere rather than trust in ‘most people’. The conclusion is that the standard trust question has a problem with validity among young respondents.

Frankrike är en odelbar, sekulär, demokratisk och social Republik”. Dess motto är ’Frihet, Jämlikhet, Broderskap’. Så beskrivs Frankrike i den franska konstitutionens första och andra paragraf. Frankrike har sedan den franska revolutionen 1789 och störtandet av monarkin genomlevt ett stort antal styrelseskick: republiker, kejsardömen och monarkier. Dagens franska konstitution, den Femte Republiken, kan beskrivas som en kompromiss mellan olika konstitutionella principer där makten både är koncentrerad och delad mellan olika politiska aktörer. I dag kännetecknas det franska politiska systemet av ökade spänningar mellan den politiska eliten och medborgarna, och dessa uttrycks bland annat genom ökad misstro mot de etablerade partierna, sjunkande valdeltagande och ett ökat stöd för det högerextrema partiet Nationella fronten.

This article analyses the cohesion of Addiopizzo's anti-racketeering campaign in Palermo, Sicily. By supporting entrepreneurs who refuse to pay for protection and by encouraging consumers to support these companies through their consumer power, Addiopizzo has mobilised about 900 companies and 11,000 citizens. Taking social capital theory as a point of departure, this article explores the values of trust and norms of reciprocity among entrepreneurs who joined Addiopizzo's anti-racketeering campaign. In addition, it analyses their solidarity with colleagues who are victims of extortion. Shared values express a stronger commitment to a movement, reinforce internal solidarity, strengthen the collective identity and reduce the risk of free riders and dropouts. The article reveals not only similarities but also important differences between various groups of joiners. The analysis builds on a unique data-set consisting of questionnaires collected from 277 entrepreneurs who joined the campaign between 2005 and 2011., Om att vända icke-samarbete till samarbete: Nya gränser i kampen mot maffian

Sweden represents a least likely case for the development of mafia-like organisations: the state is strong with relatively well-functioning legal system; the political institutions are stable, trust in government is widespread, bureaucratic ethic is high and associational life vibrant. Yet, in a relatively short time, starting in the early 1980s, the so-called “Syrian network” has established its power structure in Södertälje, which is a medium-sized city in the proximity of Stockholm. In September 2014 the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm confirmed the existence of a criminal organisation in Södertälje, with an extensive power structure with ramifications into politics and the welfare sector. This paper focuses on the so-called Syriac mafia and analysis of its history, organizational structure, leadership, recruitment, and activities.

This article analyzes perceptions the local opportunity structures among entrepreneurs who joined Addiopizzo’s anti-racket campaign “change your shopping habits to fight the pizzo” in Palermo, Sicily. As of June 2015, more than 900 businesses and 12,000 consumers had joined Addiopizzo’s anti-racketeering campaign. In spite of this achievement, the number of joiners and its geographical spread over the territory remains limited. Through an analysis of entrepreneurs’ perceptions of the local opportunity structures, the article examines external factors that facilitate or hinder Addiopizzo’s mobilization. By analysing their perceptions of politics, law enforcement, civil society and the mafia the article shows the importance law enforcement and civic associations in bringing about change in an environment that is perceived as reluctant – or even hostile – to change. The article builds on questionnaires, informal talks and interviews with entrepreneurs in Palermo., Om att vända icke-samarbete till samarbete: Nya gränser i kampen mot maffian

This article analyses the business community and the anti-racketeering campaign “Change shopping habits against paying extortion racket” (“pizzo”) launched by the organisation Addiopizzo in Palermo, Sicily. The aim of this campaign was twofold: to encourage consumers to support companies that were not paying protection money to the local mafia, and to support entrepreneurs that refused to pay for protection. To date, Addiopizzo has mobilised about 800 firms and 10,000 citizens. The experience in Palermo of anti-mafia business movements is perceived as a critical case where it is difficult to establish collective action among businesses due to a strong presence of organised crime. Drawing on the social capital theory and mobilisation research, three solutions to the collective action dilemma are identified in this article: mobilisation through organisations, recruitment through ties, and trust. These three solutions are complementary and point at the possibility that social movements can bring about social and cultural change in a context marked by high risk, distrust, and a lack of cooperative tradition. Furthermore, this article shows that the mobilisation of businesses followed different paths and, to some extent, varied over time. The analysis is built upon a unique dataset collected from 277 firms that joined Addiopizzo’s campaign between 2005 and 2011, and from interviews and informal discussions with about 100 entrepreneurs., Om att vända icke-samarbete till samarbete: nya gränser i kampen mot maffian (VR)

This article explores how generalised trust increases or decreases over time as a result of students’ individual experiences of informal school institutions. However, since experiences in local settings are likely to have varying effects on trust in different groups of strangers, we disentangle the concept of generalised trust and separate between different group-trust items. In the article, we show that three of these measure in-group generalised trust while one taps out-group generalised trust. Drawing on original data, collected in seven public schools in Palermo, Italy, between 2002 and 2005, we conclude that experiences of the school climate are transferred to both in-group and out-group generalised trust. However, our second main conclusion is that involvement in associations outside of school tends to generate distrust in people who resemble the respondents’ ingroup. By distinguishing between in-group and out-group generalised trust, we thus show that school experiences generate trust in unknown people in general, whereas other localised experiences are exclusively transferred to trust, or distrust, in familiar groups of people. We conclude by arguing that these findings are of potentially great importance to trust research since they suggest that generalised trust is less stable and more multi-faceted than previously thought. Moreover, since Palermo is a critical case, we argue that our results are encouraging. If schools can generate trust here, then schools are likely to have a similar effect elsewhere, in more favorable settings.

Om att vända icke-samarbete till samarbete: nya gränser i kampen mot maffian

Recention av Tomas Lappalainens bok 'Ndrangheta : en bok om maffian i Kalabrien

Del 3, kultur

Frankrike har länge haft ett starkt inflytande över sina forna kolonier. Men med nya generationer tycks banden till Afrika bli allt svagare och president Nicolas Sarkozy talar om behovet av förändring., Sida 8 i Del 3, kulturdelen.

Hur skapa samarbete och förtroende i en miljö som präglas av misstro och icke-samarbete? Vilka faktorer är avgörande för att vända en tradition av icke-samarbete till samarbete? I en tidigare VR-finansierad studie har jag studerat skolans kamp mot maffian i Palermo. I denna studie vänds intresset mot organisationslivet i Palermo, där den studentledda organisationen Addiopizzo framgångsrikt har förnyat motståndet mot maffian. Organisationen bildades 2004 och har förmått ett drygt 300-tal affärsidkare och cirka 10000 konsumenter att engagera sig i kampen mot maffian. Motståndet sker genom att köpmännen vägrar betala s.k. skyddspengar till maffian och genom att konsumenterna förbinder sig att, i möjligaste mån, enbart handla i affärer som vägrar betala till maffian. Teoretiskt anknyter projektet till teoribildningen kring politisk konsumtion och kring socialt kapital (trust och samarbete)., New Frontiers in the fight against the Mafia