Many people put Mafia behind any groups that are organized. You have Russian Mafia, Mexican Mafia, Black Mafia Family, Nigerian Mafia, Cuban Mafia and the list goes on.

Me personaly, I think that the Mafia is organized crime, but not all organized crime are a Mafia. Most of the times, I see three way of thinking.

1. Mafia = Sicilian organized crime
2. Mafia = Italian organized crime
3. Mafia = organized crime of any group.

So like I said, I think theirs difference between Mafia and Organized Crime, but what are the criteria to dsitinguish the differences between Mafia and Organized crime?

The Hells Angels are organized crime, but they are not a Mafia. Black Mafia Family are organized crime, but not a Mafia. Are Nigerians, Russians or others are really a Mafia?

I think originally its Sicilian organized crime, but the word became well known, so other groups adopted the word because it sounded cool and maybe in some cases law enforcement/others started refferring to any OC group as a Mafia. That’s really it.

the main characteristics of a mafia-type group are political connections, rituals/ranks, territorial control

Well Bikers in Canada have all those things. And most criminal groups in any countries also have those carateristics.

most criminal groups? i don't think so
bikers have political connections? where? i doubt it
anyway also longetivity is another thing, mafia-style group last hundred years

Mafia organizations are not exclusively concerned with organized crime. That is only one of the goals.

Trust me, Bikers, well Hells Angels in Canada have political connections.
And most organized crime, have political connections in their country. Indian organized crime has political connection in India, Nigerian organized crime has political connection in Nigeria and african countries.
Or if by political connecrion, you only refering to political connection in America and Europe.

For longevity, I give it to you. I think longevity make a group becomimg a kind of cult.

Originally Mafia is Sicilian organized crime. But nowadays its used to describe every group with specific characteristics like m2w said.

When Italians say "mafia" they mean on Sicilian organized crime , when they say 'Ndrangheta they mean on 'Ndrangheta and so on.

In every country organized crime have political connections,that is common thing. But its rare that groups have connections like Sicilian Mafia/Ndrangheta have. I am talking about masonic lodges,the vatican and so on.

An example the ndrangheta had rites copied by the Catholic church and every year there a meeting for fast of our lady of polsi in the city of polsi;the mafia have the oath with the burning saint.
The difference between the mafias and other oc group is that the first have an esoteric side that doesn't exist in the second.

Strax i’m 100% down with that. I also think every organized crime groups got political connections. The difference his the high level of those connections and the numbers. In Quebec, every groups, italians, french canadians, irish, haitians etc got political connections, but the Italians have the most and the highest.

Also, I think the term Mafia should only be about Sicilian or in extent Italians, just like Yakuza is japanese organized crime. For exemple, I try to say Bratva for Russian organized crime.

Exactly , agree with you completely.

I think people associated Mafia with organized crime because of leaders of the Commission, figures like Al Capone and John Gotti. The Mafia got an special kind of mystic figure about it. Thats why, everytime you got an organized groups, the media try to put mafia behind it, because Mafia = highly organized crime.
Also, groups want to be associated with the mafia, because the mafia look more like an entreprise than a gang. People still thinks that a made guy is always in suit, even when he sleep.

"Mafia" long ago became a generic, often slangy, term for any group with muscle, whether or not it was a criminal organization. JFK used to refer to his political team as "The Irish Mafia."

In french we use the term, « la Pègre »to talk about any kind of organized crime.

The term Mob, was first use for Irish criminal groups.

I think in Italy, mafia is mostly use for Sicilian?
I’ve watched the serie Gomorrah.
And one time, the leader of Rome organized crime said something about the Sicilian by calling them the mafia. Like their was a distinction between them and Sicilians, even if the two italians groups were in organized crime.

Like any italians that is in crime is the Mafia.
Do we still have Italian gangs or italian street gangs?
Like in Italy? I doubt a mn italian teen who do crime, he’s in the cosa nostra, camorra or other italian group.
Could we say he’s in a italian street gangs?

In order for an Italian crew to be labeled as “mafia” or “mafia-associated” it needs to follow a specific set of rituals, rules and structures that were created over a century ago. It needs to belong to the same ethnic-criminal-subculture with a shared history and traditions...including those quasi-mystic esoteric/Masonic ones. It also needs to be accepted and officially being put “on the record” by the an actual Mafia family.

Being Italian and commiting crimes (no matter the profits) shouldn’t automatically categorize a group as “Mafia”.

Just like two guys (or two hundreds) selling burgers doesn’t automatically make them part of the McDonald’s’ franchise.

Normies may use the term “mafia” to describe any criminal conspiracy but, as other poster rightfully stated, it should only be reserved to describe North-western Sicilian OC and its splinter groups worldwide.

Saying stuff like “Greek Mafia” or “Jamaican Mafia” to describe ethnic Greek, Jamaican, etc... underworld is as laughable as saying “Sicilian Yakuza” to describe Palermo’s vice scene.

I agree with Turnbull & SoCalGangs completely. It's primary reference to Sicilian OC groups. Other countries have their own unique brand name for OC groups: England =Firms, China= Triads, Japan= Yakuza, Jamaica = Posses/Massives, USA= Mobs/Syndicates, etc.

I always notice the activities are the most common way to define the groups. Too much emphasis on characteristics of different groups when they formed in different time periods & cultures. There's not a 1 catch all requirements to fit all of them around the world. Political corruption helps it all the same worldwide.

It's interesting by the way, whether other countries do in fact use their own terms to describe foreign organized crime, like whether the Japanese use "Sicilian Yakuza" when talking about the Cosa Nostra etc

i didn't know hells had political connections, never heard
yes the biggest organized crime groups have all political connections, anyway with political connections i don't mean a single small gang that knows a mayor of this or that city, but a big organization connected with several politicians like one of the italian mafias (cosa nostra/ndrangheta/camorra), solncevskaja bratva, yamaguchi gumi, 14k etc.

There are other crime groups in italy that aren't related to camorra,ndrangheta and mafia.
In italy is used the term "associazione a delinquere di stampo mafioso" aka mafia type organization (this is a mine translation) referendum to oc group that are more than simple crime groups that had a stable hierarchy and have a control on a huge territory.

Examples are the Spada clan of Ostia or the Magliana gang or the mala del Brenta (that was an organization born in the north east italy in the 1970s but was understimate because in the 1970s nobody believe that can exist an oc group in the north east made only be people born ed there and not went from south italy).
Also in Sicily there is the Stidda (Star) a group that fought with the mafia.
Recently 42 people born by a spinte group from spada clan was arrested because control a large territory in Ostia and 3 big drug trafficking plazas.

Another difference is that if you are part of a mafia type organization the prosecutors can ask the 41 bis aka the harsh prison that mean that you must stay in a maximum-security prison,isolated by the other prisoners,you can leave your cell only for visite one day a month ecc.

Organized crime exists since the beginning of mankind and during its evolution, some ethnicities created their own groups and types of hierarchy, which I believe its created by natural way, meaning who was the strongest or most powerful or clever member. As someone already said its in the longetivity of the groups, especially the ones such as Cosa Nostra or the Triads. I also think that its the medias and the ordinary citizen fault for labeling all oc groups as "Mafia"

Thxs for the info. I remember to have read about the stidda. You just remind me of them, thxs.

But how the Stidda could survive in sicily, with the cosa nostra at their neck.

Am I bugging, or those, the Stidda look more like the Camorra, than the Cosa Nostra.

Considering the fact Yakuza & Triads are the oldest active criminal associations , you would think their brand name be uses more but This Is America.

the oldest groups are italian mafia (camorra and sicilian mafia) and some triads formed at the beginning of 1800
yakuza emerged later

stidda was formed by ex cosa nostra members in the 1980s who hated riina today is present only in a few towns anyway