ABSTRACT
The Italian case is similar to others, but it may be emblematic of the raising to extreme levels of prohibitionist and securitarian practices, of their societal effects and of their combination with racist criminalization. This is also why Italy appears to resemble neoconservative America more than other European countries, due to the particular blend of the less noble aspects that have traditionally been present in the country. The recent literature analyses the various aspects of the social construction of the condition of immigrants in Italy and racism in depth. The analysis of statistics shows the Italian 'Crime Deal' has fed off the criminalization of immigrants, and particularly of those that are most easily classified as 'natural born delinquents', primarily because they are the ones at greatest disadvantage in relation to the possibility of regular and peaceful integration. The apparent paradox of the Crime Deal finds its full expression in the choices made by many local right and centre-left administrators.
