Italy is not the only country with an organized crime problem. But movies and TV shows like “Scarface,” “The Godfather” and “Gomorrah” have made the Italian mobs – in both their southern Italian and American incarnations – world-famous.
Such pop culture portrayals tend to romanticize a dangerous phenomenon that’s all too real for those whose lives it affects.
What TV and movies have often gotten right, however, is the idea that Italy’s criminal networks are powerful enough to threaten the government.
According to the country’s first-ever comprehensive survey on political violence, Italy saw 1,191 violent attacks against politicians between 2013 and 2015. The count, undertaken by the Italian nonprofit organization Avviso Pubblico, was culled from local news stories and first-hand accounts.
How does this pervasive violence affect Italian politics?
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