Friman, H. R.

English

Friman, H. Richard

epublications@Marquette

Marquette Universitye-Publications@MarquettePolitical Science Faculty Research and Publications Political Science, Department of6-1-2012Review of Mafias on the Move: How Organized CrimeConquers New Territories, by Federico VareseH. R. FrimanMarquette University, h.r.friman@marquette.eduPublished version. Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 10, No. 2 ( June, 2012): 475-476. DOI. © 2012Cambridge University Press. Used with permission.practice deleterious to democratic institutionalization canopen up new possibilities for antiauthoritarian forces.Exile can offer political actors the opportunity for polit-ical learning and for redefinition of political identity. Exiledpolitical actors can also reassess the costs and benefits oftheir tactics, as well as the validity of their strategic goals.Moreover, they can gain access to existing political, social,and intellectual networks and/or develop new ones. Theyeven can transcend nationalist mistrust, and expand theirgeopolitical visions and loyalties. In brief, in exile, polit-ical actors can rethink the meaning of politics and alterits practice.The political impact on the homeland, in turn, dependson the degree of politicization, activism, and effectivenessof exiles: their capacity to represent translocated compa-triots (to give them a voice on the international stage andto leverage the importance of diasporas to home states), toenergize solidarity networks, and so forth. On this front,the book uncharacteristically provides a less than com-plete account of the institutional, economic, and politicalmechanisms involved in the loopback effect of exile activ-ism on the home state and regime. On another front,however, the book succeeds resoundingly in demonstrat-ing that exile, though a legacy of authoritarianism, is nei-ther static nor inescapable precisely because exile meansnot the end of politics but, rather, a new starting point. Atstake in the politics of exile is the utility of exile itself as aninstrument of exclusion, as well as the costs and benefitsof undemocratic practices more broadly. The authorscogently argue that exiles can affect both.The eclecticism and micro-macro scope of The Politicsof Exile in Latin America are a source of strength. Borrow-ing from anthropology, for instance, the book identifiesthe ways in which exiles acquire and deploy social andcultural capital; and drawing on sociology, it contendswith the internal alignments and cleavages of exile com-munities. Not unrelated to its strength, however, is itsweakness. The book engages, in sustained fashion, withdefinitional discussions of exile, but links only tenuouslyits own theoretical insights and rich empirical findings tobroader theoretical debates. Most notably, the book cor-rectly emphasizes the institutional implications of exilefor the development of citizenship and democracy, butfails to address institutionalist approaches to the study ofthe state and democratization.Omissions notwithstanding, this book ought to be ofinterest to scholars working on the role of authoritarianlegacies and political learning in the construction of regimesand states in Latin America. It should also command theattention of scholars who work outside the region, espe-cially those who seek to understand the relationshipbetween the (re)construction of collective identity, politi-cal allegiances, and political action. No single book can doit all. The Politics of Exile is no different. But what it does,it does extremely well.Mafias on the Move: How Organized CrimeConquers New Territories. By Federico Varese. Princeton:Princeton University Press, 2011. 288p. $35.00.doi:10.1017/S1537592712000047— H. Richard Friman, Marquette UniversityConventional wisdom on globalization and crime positsthe combination of technological change and eco-nomic liberalization as contributing to the unprec-edented expansion of criminal activities and organizationson a global scale. Federico Varese challenges the premisethat globalization-induced opportunities for transna-tional mobility are the primary determinants of criminalexpansion and that such expansion is always successful.The volume’s central argument is that successful trans-plantation of mafias is more likely where demand forcriminal protection exists due to sudden market expan-sion “that is not properly regulated by the state” andwhere a supply of persons capable of stepping in to meetthis demand is present (p. 12).Varese narrows the focus of the inquiry over the expan-sion of organized crime to the practices of mafia organi-zations. He explicitly defines a mafia as “a group thatsupplies protection in the territory of origin,” and definestransplantation as “the ability of a mafia group to operatean outpost over a sustained period outside of its region oforigin and routine operation” (p. 6). Although narrowconceptual framing can be used to place contendingapproaches at an explanatory disadvantage, Varese accu-rately observes that the globalization literature often claimsto explain mafia expansion while blurring critical distinc-tions between types of organized crime groups and theirvaried activities.The author engages diverse literatures through a typol-ogy of supply and demand factors shaping mafia trans-plantation. The supply side refers to factors that explainwhymafia members might move to new locations, whereasthe demand side consists of factors that explain why mafiamembers, once relocated, become entrenched. The treat-ment of supply factors is wide-ranging, drawing on migra-tion arguments and economic approaches to organizedcrime. Varese rejects the politically popular argument thatcriminals surface in new territories as part of broader migra-tion streams, turning to a more nuanced migration-pushapproach. He argues that state-sponsored relocation pro-grams, as well as escalating police enforcement and com-petition with criminal rivals, lead mafia members to moveinvoluntarily to new territories.The remainder of the supply-side discussion focuses onthe utility of arguments that equate the economic deci-sions of organized crime groups with those of legitimatefirms considering foreign expansion. Varese points in par-ticular to the shortcomings of resource acquisition andinvestment-seeking approaches as explanations for mafiarelocation, arguing that the need for physical relocation| |June 2012 | Vol. 10/No. 2 475has become less important in both regards in the increas-ingly global economy. The final supply-side factor, reloca-tion to develop or capture new markets, could be muchbetter developed in the volume. Varese argues that with-out the migration push of “police repression or mafiainfighting,” mafia members would be unlikely to decideto move to a new market (p. 20). Unfortunately, consid-eration of economic-push effects is missing here, particu-larly a discussion of ways in which market saturation athome or in existing areas of territorial expansion wouldlead members of mafia groups to explore new territories.Varese defines demand-side factors as the “conditionsin the new territory” that shape the “presence of genuinedemand for criminal protection” (pp. 21, 23). A promi-nent theme in the organized crime literature is thatdemands for private protection emerge where the statelacks capacity to settle disputes in legal markets, where“entrepreneurs seek to sell legal commodities illegally,”and particularly in illegal markets (p. 23). The volumecontributes to this literature in at least two importantways. First, it turns to the role and origins of trust in socialrelations, drawing on civic engagement arguments devel-oped by Robert Putnam and applied by other scholars.Where high levels of civic engagement are typically seen asa check on mafia expansion, Varese argues in detail thatcoexistence is possible and not limited to those portionsof society dealing in illegal goods. Engaged sectors of soci-ety, he posits, may welcome private protection due to themarket advantages it may bring in legal or informalmarkets.Second, the volume adds to the literature on privateprotection by exploring the impact of different types ofmarket opportunity. Domestic-oriented markets, such asthe construction sector, raise issues of control over laborand rivals, which have long been seen by scholars as con-ducive to demands for private protection. Varese contraststhis pattern with export-oriented economies, particularlythose where local producers are not competing for accessand control of the same foreign markets. Under such con-ditions, he argues, there is relatively little demand for pri-vate protection, and as a result, mafias have little to offerdomestic producers.The remainder of the volume explores these argumentsthrough paired comparisons of efforts at mafia expansion.Three of the four case study chapters focus on a specificmafia organization and an example of its successful andfailed transplantation. Varese explores the domestic expan-sion of the ‘Ndrangheta into the northern Italian regionsof Piedmont and Veneto, the international expansion ofthe Russian Solntsevskaya into Rome and Budapest, andthe historical expansion of the Sicilian mafia into NewYork City and Rosario, Argentina.The fourth chapter turnsto an overview of recent expansion by various Hong Kongand Taiwanese triads into mainland China.The case studies, while structured with a focus on sup-ply and demand factors, are more a narrative illustrationof the plausibility of the book’s central arguments. Varesedraws on a varying mix of secondary literature, govern-ment analyses and criminal justice files, media reports,and field interviews. The chapters are highly engaging,offering detailed contextual background and identifyingkey members of the various organizations, their paths tothe new territories, and their activities upon arrival. Thecases lend support to the author’s emphasis on migrationpush as a critical supply-side factor, and on patterns in thedemand for private protection as shaping successful mafiatransplantation.Aspects of the case selection are puzzling, however.Varese acknowledges challenges in case selection and theconsiderations that inform his choices. Yet further discus-sion would help to clarify the logic of particular pairings,such as New York City with Rosario instead of BuenosAires. The focus on the ‘Ndrangheta’s transplantationwithin Italy is more puzzling. The author writes that“[t]he ‘Ndrangheta has clearly demonstrated a remark-able ability to establish branches abroad” (p. 34). Yet hisresponse to the absence of “in-depth studies of the‘Ndrangheta’s transplantation into new territories” is toexplore movement from southern to northern Italy (p. 34).He correctly observes that the chapter’s findings chal-lenge prominent social capital arguments on the impactof high civic engagement. But looking beyond Italy couldhave addressed this literature, as well as conventional glob-alization arguments and economic approaches to the trans-national expansion of organized crime.These concerns aside, Mafias on the Move offers a com-pelling and cautionary tale of the unintended conse-quences of state actions. Enforcement efforts within themafia’s home territory involuntarily displaced mafia mem-bers into new regions. In some of these destinations, statechoices on economic transitions, democratic reforms, andanticorruption initiatives enhanced the demand for pri-vate protection in ways that facilitated the mafia’s success-ful transplantation.The illustration of this argument acrossa diverse selection of countries and time periods is amongthe ways in which Varese provides an insightful challengeto the conventional wisdom on the impact of globaliza-tion and an essential contribution to the literature on orga-nized crime.The Politics of Human Rights. By Andrew Vincent. New York:Oxford University Press, 2010. 272p. $99.00 cloth, $35.00 paper.doi:10.1017/S1537592712000059— Keith Tester, University of HullJacques Maritain once reflected on his participation in thediscussions that led to the promulgation of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights in 1948. In his book Manand the State (1951) he said that all of the participants inthe discussions were agreed about the importance of humanrights and indeed what human rights meant, but as soon| |Book Reviews | Violence and Politics476 Perspectives on Politics

Review of \u3cem\u3eMafias on the Move: How Organized Crime Conquers New Territories,\u3c/em\u3e by Federico Varese

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&amp;context=polisci_fac

Review of \u3cem\u3eMafias on the Move: How Organized Crime Conquers New Territories,\u3c/em\u3e by Federico Varese

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