Contering Mafia and Corruption: an Overview on Recent Developments

The paper illustrates some of the most relevant recent developments concerning the fight against mafia-type organizations and corruption in Italy. Mafia-type organizations are typically embedded in certain areas of Southern Italy. However, their reach goes far beyond that sub-national level, being national, European, trans-national. International judicial cooperation − also at the global level − should become faster and deeper. European legislation is more and more relevant. This is also shown by the recent adoption of a regulation concerning the European Public Prosecutor's Office. Some transformations of the most relevant Italian mafia-type groups are then discussed, with special regard to their international ramifications. Specific sections are also devoted to Mafia-related environmental crimes, migration and human trafficking, the exploitation of migrant workers in the agricultural sector. Other sections focus on some recent policy choices concerning anti-corruption and public bureaucracies, with regard to whistleblowing, transparency, protection of civil servants and local politicians against the threats addressed to them, new methods in the analysis of administrative behaviors which could be affected by corruption, advisable improvements of the ongoing policies.