Universities and Local Communities: Research, Training and Networking in the Field of Legality and Mafias, for the Right to Informed Knowledge

Anna Maria Zaccaria; Stefano D'Alfonso

doi:10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16903

Authors

Anna Maria Zaccaria Università Federico II Napoli

Anna Maria Zaccaria is full professor of Sociology of the environment and territory at the Department of Social Sciences University of Naples, Federico II. Founding member of the Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory on Mafias and Corruption (LIRMAC, Department of Social Sciences). She participates in national and international research on urban and social regeneration, sustainable development, governance of environmental risk. Latest publication: (2023) La faglia nascosta. Territori, decisioni e pratiche nel cratere sismico del 1980, Franco Angeli.
Stefano D'Alfonso University of Naples, Federico II

Stefano D'Alfonso is associate professor of administrative law at the Federico II University of Naples. He is among the founders and the legal contact person of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Research on Mafias and Corruption (Lirmac) of the Department of Social Sciences at the Federico II University, historically engaged in research on mafias.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.3034-8544/16903

Keywords:

university, anagrafe, informed knowledge, mafias

Abstract

This paper focuses on the commitment of Italian universities to training on legality and research on mafias. This commitment aims to guarantee students the right to informed knowledge, based on research and scientific reflection, of mafia phenomena. This is particularly important given that public opinion and the media often offer a distorted representation of organized crime phenomena, sometimes even dangerously downplaying their severity. The data underlying our reflections come from a Review of University Teaching and Research, which was created by the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Research on Mafia and Corruption (LIRMAC) at the University Federico II. This review is a valuable resource that highlights the presence of a dedicated training offer, consisting of experts and research groups active within each university or across universities, which serve as expert channels of access to scientific knowledge of Mafia phenomena.