Diego Gambetta Ordine dei libri (cronologico)

The violent actions of a few extremists can significantly alter history, yet there remains a considerable gap in our understanding of these individuals. In their exploration, Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog reveal two surprising findings: a disproportionate number of Islamist radicals come from engineering backgrounds, and both Islamist and right-wing extremism share more similarities than either does with left-wing extremism, where engineers are notably absent. They address four key questions regarding extremism: What socioeconomic conditions lead individuals to join extremist groups? Does the profile of extremists indicate self-selection into extremism or recruitment by groups? How important is ideology in determining group affiliation? Lastly, is there a specific mindset that predisposes individuals to certain types of extremism? By examining these questions, the authors provide fresh perspectives on the motivations behind political violence, offering unexpected insights into the nature and emergence of extremism. Their findings challenge conventional wisdom and deepen our understanding of the complex factors that drive individuals toward radicalization.

The signs and signals of criminal communicationHow do criminals communicate with each other? Unlike the rest of us, people planning crimes can't freely advertise their goods and services, nor can they rely on formal institutions to settle disputes and certify quality. They face uniquely intense dilemmas as they grapple with the basic problems of whom to trust, how to make themselves trusted, and how to handle information without being detected by rivals or police. In this book, one of the world's leading scholars of the mafia ranges from ancient Rome to the gangs of modern Japan, from the prisons of Western countries to terrorist and pedophile rings, to explain how despite these constraints, many criminals successfully stay in business.Diego Gambetta shows that as villains balance the lure of criminal reward against the fear of dire punishment, they are inspired to unexpected feats of subtlety and ingenuity in communication. He uncovers the logic of the often bizarre ways in which inveterate and occasional criminals solve their dilemmas, such as why the tattoos and scars etched on a criminal's body function as lines on a professional résumé, why inmates resort to violence to establish their position in the prison pecking order, and why mobsters are partial to nicknames and imitate the behavior they see in mafia movies. Even deliberate self-harm and the disclosure of their crimes are strategically employed by criminals to convey important messages.By deciphering how criminals signal to each other in a lawless universe, this gruesomely entertaining and incisive book provides a quantum leap in our ability to make sense of their actions.