Developments in anti-corruption strategies. The eternal recurrence of penal repression and the necessary enhancement of the administrative apparatus

This contribution provides a very brief summary of the evolution of strategies for preventing and combating certain forms of corruption witnessed in our country over the last decade. The numerous legislative measures that followed one another under the influence of supranational covenants and the gradual metamorphosis of crimes against the public administration show an alternation between the enhancement of the administrative apparatus, inaugurated by the Severino law, and a return to criminal law, which reached its peak with the Spazzacorrotti law. This analysis emphasises the importance of an “integrated” approach to corruption, whereby, abandoning the populist logic underlying the “emergency criminal law” and in deference to the principle of extrema ratio, administrative controls and technological tools capable of preventing and promptly detecting corrupt dealings are increased and strengthened, while at the same time a profound cultural transformation is launched - destined to permeate the business world as well as civil society - based on transparency, legality and trust in institutions.