Christina Jerne is a sociologist whose work examines civil society, social movements, and the economic dynamics that shape activism. She has conducted extensive research on Italian anti-mafia networks, focusing on how organizations, cooperatives, and community groups respond to criminal influence through economic participation and public engagement. Jerne’s scholarship explores imitation, resistance, and the structures that allow grassroots actors to challenge entrenched systems. Her writing appears in academic journals that address political sociology, cultural sociology, and collective action. Her book "Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism," published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2025, analyzes how anti-mafia initiatives build alternative markets and practices that counter criminal economies.