Jake Newbury (UCL) - 2023-24 Students
jake.newbury.23@ucl.ac.uk

Stumbling on Dominance: How a mafia on the run accidentally achieved grey market dominance in Arizona, 1945-1990

This PhD will examine the Sicilian Mafia’s migration to and activities in Arizona from 1945 to 1990. Through a new and original collection of source material that I have declassified, this work will form the first ever longitudinal monograph-length work on a single case study of mafia migration. It will combine a source-driven and empirically rich case study with Italian language sources overlooked by Anglophone writers. Moreover, as the case study addresses the transatlantic nature of mafia networks, my analysis will explore the interrelation between mobility and several conceptual mafia debates to produce a multi-dimensional account. These debates include: the specific dynamics of migration associated with the underworld; its textual and communicative codes; mafia endogamy; relational capital and networking, both vertical and horizontal, both within and beyond the underworld; power syndicate and enterprise syndicate; reputation and mafia ‘branding’; and the issue of legitimation with different audiences.

Primary supervisor: John Dickie

Secondary supervisor: Selena Daly