The Reputation of the Invisibles: The Society of Santa as a Para-Masonic Criminal Entity Above the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This paper explores how mafia-type and semi-secret organizations construct and preserve their reputation through a calibrated equilibrium between visibility and invisibility. We unpack the case study of the Society of Santa, in Calabria, which was a semi-secret entity, presented as a para-masonic deviant lodge, born within the local mafia clans ('ndrangheta). Through a narrative approach to investigating files, surveillance tapes, and trial documentation and conducting interviews, we posit a new theoretical framework to explore reputation by invisibility. This kind of reputation can be effective when individuals wish to act both in criminal arenas and in political-institutional ones. We argue that reputation by invisibility can effectively amplify deviance and criminality, such as corruption, by building narratives around specific individual skills and their organizational yet secretive abilities.
Source: Deviant Behavior
Authors: Anna Sergi, Alberto Vannucci
Institutions: University of Essex, University of Pisa
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4404568899