Cultural warfare and trust : fighting the mafia in Palermo / Carina Gunnarson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gunnarson, Carina, author.

Series:

Perspectives on democratization.

Perspectives on democratization

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social capital (Sociology)--Italy--Palermo.

Social capital (Sociology).

Mafia--Italy--Palermo.

Mafia.

Trust.

Cooperation--Italy--Palermo.

Cooperation.

Civil society--Italy--Palermo.

Civil society.

Education--Social aspects--Italy--Palermo.

Education.

Palermo (Italy)--Politics and government.

Palermo (Italy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 246 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

Online-ausg.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press ; New York : distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book concentrates on a central issue in research on democratic processes: the development of generalised trust. The existence of generalised trust and confidence in a society is decisive for economic development and an effective democracy. Is it possible to fight persistent values of distrust and non-cooperation? Is it possible to support the development of generalised trust through public action and education? The book addresses these questions by examining political efforts to combat Palermo's Mafia-controlled heritage and to turn a tradition of non-cooperation and distrust into cooperation and trust. In particular, it focuses on the school program launched by Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of Palermo, during the mid-1990s, which was designed to break the Mafia's territorial and mental control, to restore citizens' rights and to promote a civic consciousness based on the rule of law. Combining theories on social capital and civic education, the book presents and analyses quantitative and qualitative research carried out in seven public schools in Palermo, some situated in extremely difficult areas dominated by drugs, violence and organised crime.

Contents:

05; Copyright Page; Contents; Tables; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction; Cultural warfare; Generalised trust and school; This study; The plan of the book; 2 The origins of generalised trust; The blessings of generalised trust; What are the origins of generalised trust?; Institutional explanations; School factors; Competing explanations; Conclusion; 3 Methods; Selection of level, schools and classes; Composition of the questionnaire; Measuring trust; The samples; The panel; Participation in the survey; 4 The Mafia; The Mafia as a parallel institution to the state

The Mafia and politics The Mafia and territorial control; Weakness of the state -cause or consequence of the Mafia?; The Mafia and mental control; Conclusion; 5 Cultural warfare; Orlando's new policy for Palermo; Orlando's decline; Increased interest in civic education; Conclusion; 6 Students' trust in political institutions; Vertical trust; Are Palermitan students more distrustful than students elsewhere?; Conclusion; 7 Students' perceptions of generalised trust; Generalised trust; Helpfulness; Trust in known people; Trust in unknown people; Conclusion; 8 Explaining generalised trust

Institutions and school Formative years; Theory and major hypotheses; Data and method; Levels of trust in 2002 and 2005; Testing the hypotheses; Conclusion; 9 The Letter Project - students' own stories; Description of the Letter Project; Students' motivation; Distribution of assignments; School life; Students' own stories about trust and faith in other people; Students' stories about their neighbourhood; Relating letters to statistics; Conclusion; 10 Conclusion; Describing trust; Explaining generalised trust; The Letter Project; Further findings; Some reflections; The need for further research

Cultural warfare Appendix: the distribution of the questionnaires; Reliability; Drop-outs and newcomers; References; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Apr 2026).

Includes bibliographical references (p. [230]-236) and index.

ISBN:

9781847797001

1847797008

9781781701430

1781701431

9781847792174

1847792170

OCLC:

818847343