Organized Crime and Local Politics: an Assessment of Structural Vulnerabilities of Southern Italian Communities

• In Event: WG Organized Crime and Criminal Networks Panel 4. Mafias & governance-type organized crime

Abstract

The cooperation of organized criminal groups with actors who don’t belong to the underworld is crucial for the survival and expansion of the groups themselves. The case of Southern Italy, where mafias have long wielded power over civil society and the political sphere, is illustrative of the links that criminals create with the upperworld and the embeddedness of organized crime in local communities. While the study of the mafia-politics relationship has attracted significant attention, there is still limited research on why some territories are more vulnerable than others. This study examines whether structural conditions can facilitate the establishment of successful cooperative relationships between local politicians and organized crime within southern Italian communities.
By relying on the implementation of art. 143 of the legislative decree 267/2000, allowing the dissolution of city councils when evidence of mafia infiltration exists, this work develops a framework to assess the correlates of political-criminal cooperation based on communities’ social capital and socio-economic structure.
The findings aim to inform the formulation of policies leveraging social development to: a) effectively dismantle the links between organized crime and the community and b) prevent cases of recidivism.

Author

• Clara Rondani, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore