SYSTEM CORRUPTION AND SYSTEMIC VIOLENCE BETWEEN LAW AND POLITICS: REFLECTIONS FROM THE ITALIAN “TANGENTOPOLI”

Abstract

The article adopts as framework the Social System Theory by N. Luhmann and provides an overview of the concepts of “systemic corruption” and “systemic violence”, analysing how the phenomena they describe affect the subsystems of Law and Politics. The analysis of “Tangentopoli” (Italy), connected to the criminal investigation “Mani Pulite”, attempts to concretely identify the most important repercussions for Human Rights and the conflicts between media, public opinion, judicial and political power. Through bibliographical and documentary research and the hypothetic-deductive method, corruption is conceived not only as a crime, but as a social phenomenon that involves the overall society as well as the citizens, conceived as individuals who are called to choose and act in a responsible way. Precisely because of this reference to the individual and interpersonal levels of social life, the considerations made may also apply to contexts different from the one analyzed here (Italy).