The Addio Pizzo movement: exploring social change using agent-based modelling

Elsenbroich, C. (2017) The Addio Pizzo movement: exploring social change using agent-based modelling. Trends in Organized Crime, 20(1), pp. 120-138. (doi: 10.1007/s12117-016-9288-x) (PMID:32025180) (PMCID:PMC6979701)

Abstract

Extortion racketeering is a crime that blights the lives of everyone in societies where it takes hold. Whilst most European countries have some form of extortion racketeering, in most countries it is isolated to some ethnic communities. In Southern Italy and Sicily, extortion racketeering is still a feature of overall society. This paper attempts to look at the phenomenon from the angle of collectives, of resistance building through civic organisations such as Addiopizzo. For this investigation a computational model is presented to analyse the effect of team-reasoning on levels of resistance in systemic extortion rackets. An agent-based model is presented that implements the interaction of different kinds of decision-making of extortion victims with law enforcement deterrence. The results show that established extortion rackets are hard to undermine unless bottom-up civic engagement and law enforcement go hand in hand.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The research presented here is undertaken within the project Collective Reasoning as a Moral Point of View (AH/L007282/1) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Elsenbroich, Dr Corinna
• Authors: Elsenbroich, C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
• Journal Name: Trends in Organized Crime
• Publisher: Springer
• ISSN: 1084-4791
• ISSN (Online): 1936-4830
• Published Online: 10 September 2016
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 The Author
• First Published: First published in Trends in Organized Crime 20(1): 120-138
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License