Azione giudiziaria, crisi e ridefinizione del potere locale in Campania (1992-1994)

Between the spring of 1992 and early 1994, the Italian political system as a whole was involved in a number of judicial investigations and was overwhelmed by them. Choosing the case of Campania’s local political rule, this article aims at analysing some aspects of Italy’s political crisis within that context, while also considering their distinctive characters and their similarities with the process that involved the rest of the country. The author investigates in particular the relationship between public intervention in Southern Italy and the creation of a patronage and power-sharing system in Campania, by relating them to the internal changes of the judiciary and to the broader context of Italian politics. He examines, finally, the rapid transition between the old and the new political order, its ruptures and, at the same time, its continuity.