. The plan of the research will be to set forth the historical context for the emergence of the modern Mafia, and then to discuss the current state of the Mafia in Sicily in light of transformation of attitudes toward the organization in recent years, particularly in light of the so-called Mafia War, a series of assassinations, investigations, and government scandals involving Mafia personalities and individual and organizational behavior.
No discussion of the current status of the Mafia in Sicily can ignore its historical roots and configuration. The psychological and organizational power of the Mafia begins with language, i.e., with the definition of the word. One source defines Mafia in terms of the society as a whole, as "popular hostility to the law; also, the body of persons imbued with this sentiment which in time developed into a loosely organized secret society. Hence, a supposed organization of Sicilians or Italians in foreign countries, as revealed by similar hostility to law." The inclusion of the word supposed is instructive, for it reflects traditions of silence on the very existence of the society. Sterling cites the "ancient Sicilian code of omert( [Cosa Nostra, which] held a whole populace in bond."
Secret by nature, the Mafia was doubly secret as a result of this great popular wall of silence around it. Even as it robbed, kidnapped, extorted, murdered, bought and sold government officials, rifled the public till, terrorized judges and juries, trafficked in drugs and amassed colossal fortunes, many experts insisted that the Mafia did not exist. There was no damning, unanswerable evidence to the contrary--no smoking gun. . . . Thus, it is probably the only structured criminal organization extant that has operated without leaving a material trace for over a hundred years.
The way in which the Sicilian community shifted as European history unfolded explains how an organization such as the Mafia could emerge. I...