S-regulation matters

The paper briefly reports the investigation about s-regulation, a neologism introduced by the sociologist Donolo (2001), which refers to the ambiguous relation between Italian society and system of rules. According to Donolo, in our research perspective s-regulation matters because the combination of weak territorial control and inadequate regulations and laws by government, together with the deep rooted presence of criminal organizations, facilitates exploitation, abuses and illicit businesses. Today s-regulation matters even more because the effects of informal/illegal/criminal powers, increasingly widespread all over the peninsula, are also triggering relevant socio-ecological vulnerability through the interplay between what we call the ‘Italian anomaly’ and the ‘waste metabolics’. Therefore the point is not only to read s-regulation as a “crime” to be prosecuted and punished, but also as a “weakness” to be addressed by requiring those who govern to interact with communities and cultures so as to create a strategy for recovery.