Italian politicians allied with the mafia to guarantee vote sales across parties.

Evidence

These connections, however, apply to private enforcers in general, regardless of whether they are mafiosi. But the Italian state has developed specific links, both political and ideological, with the mafia. Politicians of more than one party have formed partnerships with mafiosi in order to exploit the ability of the latter to act as guarantors of complex sales of votes and illicit interparty arrangements (see Chapter 7). It can hardly be expected, therefore, that once in power they will direct state institutions to oppose the mafia. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 16

Categorization

• XREF: Directly extends the reader’s Gambetta/Milgrom frame: protection and third-party enforcement transplanted into vote-buying, not just goods.
• SEED: Angle for the Sacrifice piece’s shadow-state theme: how a state’s own politicians outsource arbitration of electoral deals.