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 and 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.