The wounds of progress: territorial drivers of harm by corporate power, local state capture, and mafia in Calabria, Italy

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between corporate power, local state capture, and mafia-type organised crime in Crotone, Calabria, a city facing significant social, economic, and political challenges. By combining critical and green criminology with studies on mafia and corruption, we propose an analysis and a definition of the compounded territorial drivers of harm inflicted by powerful actors. Using a qualitative methodology that includes document analysis, interviews, media scrutiny, and fieldwork observations, we explore how corporate exploitation, corruption, and organised crime converge to exacerbate territorial drivers of socio-environmental, socio-economic, and socio-political harms in areas where political actors are often influenced by private interests. This results in a cycle of exploitation driven by both corporate entities and mafia-type interests. By investigating how these actors exploit or overlook local resources and communities, we uncover a complex process that connects social harms over a territory and compounds them. This research highlights how these interconnected threats perpetuate marginalisation for, and harm to, communities, even amid promises of progress from the various stakeholders involved.