Defining the Mafia: Between Sociology and Law

The main thesis of the essay is that the sociological definition of the Mafia is more stringent, more analytical, because of evident scientific duties: that of building models based on realities narrated from the inside and ascertained by the most advanced investigative techinques. The legal definition has instead a practical aim: striking down a phenomenon that had demonstrated over 120 years an extraordinary ability to avoid convictions by courts thanks to many forms of complicity