Italy and Sicily: Mafia territorial sovereignty

The chapter discusses two from among the many factors that maintain Sicily in a state of perpetual public ungovernability. The crisis of legitimacy in Sicily is examined by focusing on the factors that keep Sicilian territory under the control of organised crime syndicates. The first is an inefficient system of governance and the second is the activity of an effective network of crime syndicates with capillary control over the regional economy. Mafia syndicates and their political cronies are often perceived as a better alternative to an inefficient state apparatus. Mafia bosses are, by comparison to the majority of Italian civil servants, efficient and accountable administrators. The internal dynamics of a single Mafia group ensures a level of democratic accountability for its affiliates. The competition with other families instead fosters efficacy. In short, Mafia syndicates are effective corporations that have taken on the territorial government role and thus contribute to the lack of purpose of the Sicilian public sector.