Pax Mafiosa : A Comparative Study of the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta’s Transnational Expansions in 1990-2021

Abstract: In this comparative study the aim is to test the explanatory value and what can be inferred from theory building of criminological rational choice theory and offensive realism on the transnational expansions of organized criminal groups. Two analytical models, based upon the works of Ronald Clarke, Derek B. Cornish and John J. Mearsheimer, will be applied upon the Camorra’s and the ‘Ndrangheta’s transnational expansions. The essay uses a wide scope of sources, from news articles to academic books and papers, in order to provide an accurate description of the two units analyzed. The aim of this essay is achieved by having two research questions. This will in conjunction with the analytical models test the explanatory value of the theories when assessed upon the empirical material collected about the two cases, as well as provide valuable information of how organized criminal groups operate. It is concluded that organized criminal groups act rational and that rational choice theory is relevant when researching organized criminal groups' transnational expansions while the results of offensive realism differed on the two units.