'Terror at Midday' - The Cosa Nostra as a terrorist organisation: The Cosa Nostra as a terrorist organisation

Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: 98, erg International School - Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (Department for Political Science), course: Seminar 'Terrorism'... Read more

Seminar paper from the year 1999 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: 98, erg International School - Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (Department for Political Science), course: Seminar 'Terrorism', 23 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: In this paper I make the claim that the Cosa Nostra is not only an organised crime syndicate, but in deed a terrorist organisation; an organisation who's acts are aimed to safeguard a political system which is beneficial to them for reasons of power accumulation in more than just the criminal or financial sense. Even though I refer specifically to the Cosa Nostra of Sicily, I will try and formulate a definition of this type of terrorism that might help us understand the actions of other organisations, called 'Mafia' in various places around the world. I feel strongly that only when we understand the political side of 'Organised Crime' will we stand a chance to counter this ever rising threat to democracy. Italy, as an extreme case, can help clarify tendencies already observed in Post-Cold War Russia, and other places. Less