| This thesis compares paramilitary organizations in Northern Ireland and mafia organizations in Sicily as violent organizations. It demonstrates the numerous similarities between these types of organizations in terms of their organizational structures and dynamics, and their role as economic, social and political actors. As such, it challenges conventional arguments about the nature of contemporary terrorist and criminal organizations in Europe, and offers an explanation for these similarities rooted in both the violent character of the organizations themselves and their location within territories characterized by the existence of functional, widely legitimate contemporary states. |
