Mechanisms of the Embedding of Extortion Racket Systems: The case of Cosa Nostra

The chapter summarises some of the research undertaken in the EU project GLODERS which is directed towards investigating the dynamics of extortion racket systems (ERS) of which the Sicilian Mafia is but one example (http://www.gloders.eu/). Before describing in more detail the principal formal characteristics of the Mafia-type organizations and the ways in which the extortion racket system works in a certain territory it is necessary to briefly outline what is a mafia-type organization and what we mean when we talk about the extortion racket system. The chapter propose an analysis of the mechanisms of the process of extortion in Sicily.