Dr Martina Baradel

Martina is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow in the Department of Sociology. Her primary research interest lies in the yakuza, Japanese criminal syndicates, with a broad academic scope covering criminology, Japanese studies, politics, comparative criminal law, and criminal justice. Her research approach integrates multiple disciplines and relies heavily on primary sources, including ethnographic interviews with yakuza bosses, active and ex-members, investigative journalists, original documents, and statistical data analysis. Martina's current research project aims to uncover the factors underlying the emergence of new forms of crime in the wake of declining mafia groups, and to address the significant imbalances in the field of mafia studies by including overlooked forms of crime such as the yakuza. 

Martina's recent publications include 'Mapping Drug Smuggling Networks in Japan:  A Social Network Analysis of Trial Documents' (forthcoming), 'Alliance and Conflict: Investigating the Determinants of Yakuza Violence Using Multilevel Network Analysis' (forthcoming), ‘Yakuza grey: the shrinking of the il/legal nexus and its repercussions on Japanese organised crime’ (Global Crime, 2021), ‘The rise of shaming paternalism in Japan: recent tendencies in the Japanese criminal justice system (Trends in Organized Crime, 2021), 'The yakuza on trial: patterns in the sentencing of members of Japanese organised crime' (The Journal of Japanese Law, 2020), Under a Setting Sun: the Despatialisation of the Yakuza and their Longing for Visibility’ (Trends in Organized Crime, 2020), and she is currently finalising her first book project, forthcoming with Oxford University Press.

Martina contributes articles to platforms such as The Conversation and East Asia Forum, while also actively participating in various media outlets. At the moment, she is working on a non-fiction novel, a graphic novel, and a podcast, all centered around her research focus on the Japanese criminal underworld.