Offers That Cannot Be Refused
An anthropology of extortion
Lucia Michelutti (Author), EXTORT Research Group (Author)
What makes an offer impossible to refuse? Combining original ethnography with compelling storytelling, this book traces the social life of extortion across Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. The research is grounded in collaborative and comparative ethnography conducted by a team of anthropologists, bringing together fieldwork from across the world to reveal how extortive logics shape different domains of life, following the circulation of threats to the distribution of intimidation across society.
The result is a gripping read about the ordinariness of extortion beyond conventional organised crime and mafia spheres. The chapters document how the strength of extortion lies in the gradual and complicit inclusion of individuals and populations within relationships that are simultaneously attractive and violent – capturing the overlapping dimensions of compulsion and choice that define so many of today’s livelihoods. In doing so, this book illustrates the dynamics of coercion, force and consent, and offers a fresh perspective on economic violence that moves away from exclusive legalistic definitions of extortion.
List of authors
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Extortion ordinariness
1 Three stories of extortion from Kolkata
‘If you do not let us handle the work, you will lose your land.’
Arild Engelsen Ruud
2 Stories of extortion in everyday business relations in Bolivia: when the extorted becomes the extorter
‘If you don’t lower my rent, I’ll report you to the tax office and they will fine you for your untaxed income.’ Miranda Sheild Johansson
3 Stories of sexualized extortion in North India
‘If you do not give me Rs 5,000,000, I accuse you of rape.’
Lucia Michelutti
4 A shared accusation: everyday extortion and debt in an Amazonian Quilombo Area
‘If you do not accept these terms, you will be left with nothing.’
Julia F. Sauma
5 Stories of extortion in the construction mafia in Cape Town and Durban
‘This is our land!’
Brandaan Huigen
6 Stories of extortion in sandalwood smuggling in South India
‘If you don’t give me Rs 70,000, I will not give you bail and you will spend ten years in jail waiting for trial.’
David Picherit
7 Stories of extortion through time in Guatemala City: from rupture to resignation in a gang extortion zone
‘If you do not pay what the gang demands, we will kill you or force you to flee.’
Katherine Saunders-Hastings
8 Stories of extortion and patronage in rural Punjab
‘Vote for me and pay your share or face the police without a shield.’
Nicolas Martin
9 The rise of digital microloan apps: stories of extortion in Nigeria
‘Your aspirations are within reach, but so is your downfall if you default.’
Davide Casciano
10 Stories of extortion and petrol station dreams
‘If you don’t take the offer on the table (the contract), you won’t be able to help your friends and family fleeing the war.’
Yathukulan Yogarajah
11 The war for legal markets: stories of extortion in Bolivian informal economies
‘Do not sell what we sell, or the police will seize your goods.’
Fernando Rabossi and Nico Tassi
12 Stories of extortion among Pakistani migrants in Italy
‘If you do not work for free, I will divorce your sister.’
Tommaso Sbriccoli
13 Stories of extortion between Chinese miners and Shuar communities in Ecuador
‘We will buy you a car if…’
Liliana Arias, Hans Caycedo and Hans Steinmüller
14 Stories of extortion in Pakistan: blood money and forgiveness in murder cases
‘If you do not forgive me in court for having murdered your relative, I will have my men rain bullets on your house.’
Paul Rollier
15 Stories of extortion in the Bolivian cocaine trade
‘If you do not pay your debts, we will kidnap your children’
Thomas Grisaffi
16 Stories of extortion in and in between Britain and Bangladesh
‘If you want peace, stop doing politics’
Ashraf Hoque
Conclusion: An anthropology of extortion
Bibliography
Index
DOI: 10.14324/111.9781806551071
Publication date: 06 July 2026
PDF ISBN: 9781806551071
EPUB ISBN: 9781806551088
Hardback ISBN: 9781806551057
Paperback ISBN: 9781806551064
Related titles
Offers That Cannot Be Refused
An anthropology of extortion
Publication date: July 6, 2026
Open Access PDF ISBN: 9781806551071
Paperback ISBN: 9781806551064
Hardback ISBN: 9781806551057
Trim size (hardback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm
Trim size (paperback): 23.4cm x 15.6cm
What makes an offer impossible to refuse? Combining original ethnography with compelling storytelling, this book traces the social life of extortion across Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. The research is grounded in collaborative and comparative ethnography conducted by a team of anthropologists, bringing together fieldwork from across the world to reveal how extortive logics shape different domains of life, following the circulation of threats to the distribution of intimidation across society.
The result is a gripping read about the ordinariness of extortion beyond conventional organised crime and mafia spheres. The chapters document how the strength of extortion lies in the gradual and complicit inclusion of individuals and populations within relationships that are simultaneously attractive and violent – capturing the overlapping dimensions of compulsion and choice that define so many of today’s livelihoods. In doing so, this book illustrates the dynamics of coercion, force and consent, and offers a fresh perspective on economic violence that moves away from exclusive legalistic definitions of extortion.
