The difference mafias make: a triadic model of organized crime in ethnic conflicts

Abstract

ABSTRACT I propose a Simmelian triadic model of the interrelations between (1) host states, (2) separatist movements, and (3) organized crime. It formalizes three generalizable relational configurations: organized crime as (a) tertius gaudens, (b) mediator and (c) divisor et imperator, with operationalizable features defining the nature of each pair of relationships among the three agents. Using the paired case studies of the Serbia-Kosovo and Georgia-South Ossetia ethnic conflicts from 1989–2012, I illustrate the utility of the conceptual model in explaining divergences in separatist success. The model is argued to be superior to conventional and near-universal dyadic conceptualizations – overt or implicit.