Talis pater, talis filius: the role of discursive strategies, thematic narratives and ideology in Cosa Nostra

How criminal organisations exert secret power over communities: An intracultural appropriation theory of cultural values and norms

“…60-62; see also Geertz, 1964). They do so by providing meaning and legitimacy to the actions of a dominant group, demonstrating that they are appropriate and proper in relation to shared values and standards, and by grounding the dominant group's activities in shared traditions and identities (Poppi, Travaglino, & Di Piazza, 2018;Thompson, 1990;Travaglino, 2017).…”

“…Recently, we analysed a TV interview with Giuseppe Riina, the son of the mafia boss Toto' Riina (Poppi et al, 2018). We showed how Giuseppe Riina used a vast array of discursive strategies to highlight the importance of values such as 'minding one's own businesses', or justifying, denying and legitimising mafia's practices.…”

“…In this answer, Vizzini establishes a linkage between Sicilian regional identity (a southern Italian regional identity) and the mafioso identity through the notions of respect, toughness and masculinity. These CRIMINAL ORGANISATIONS' SECRET POWER AND COMMUNITY OMERTÀ 33 traditional values are often propagated by mafia members and described as being the cornerstone of the mafia group (Poppi et al, 2018).…”

A bene placito*

“…In the humanities and social sciences, narratives have been theorized as one of the primary means of articulating and sharing knowledge, and they are closely related to power. The notion of narrative we use reflects Foucault's (1990) emphasis on how narratives are productive; they do things, and constitute and shape social realities (see Jäger, 2001;Tamboukou, 2008;Poppi and Castelli Gattinara, 2018;Poppi, Travaglino and Di Piazza, 2018). Foucault described how power, knowledge and their representations are inherently connected (Foucault, 1990, p. 100).…”

Parea non servin:strategies of exploitation and resistance in the caporalato discourse

“…Regarding exploitation, the strategies of justification, legitimisation and denial are apt to reflect the logic of acceptance and control that caporalato conveys. Such strategies are especially relevant in contexts where individuals or organisations engage in crimes or other types of stigmatised actions (Poppi and Di Piazza 2017; Poppi, Travaglino and Di Piazza 2018; Poppi and Campani, forthcoming). Specifically, justification strategies assert a connection between the agent and a negative situation, but at the same time develop a frame through which delinquent and transgressing actions are justified as being due to external factors or perpetrators’ attributes (Sykes and Matza 1957).…”