En mai 2025, dans une étude publiée avec Federico Varese et Cecilia Meneghini par le European Journal of Criminology, le chercheur Paolo Campana, professeur de criminologie à l’université de Cambridge, mettait en lumière la notion de « gouvernance criminelle ». Alors que se multiplient les assassinats dans des secteurs sous influence grandissante des réseaux de trafiquants, cette approche permet d’éclairer l’un des dangers majeurs liés au crime organisé : un transfert progressif de légitimité entre l’Etat et les gangs. Ce risque est insuffisamment pris en compte, selon le chercheur, alors que médias et pouvoirs publics continuent de se focaliser sur les épisodes de violence, notamment liés au trafic de stupéfiants.
Vous développez la notion de « gouvernance criminelle ». De quoi s’agit-il ?
Si je devais la définir à grands traits, je dirais qu’il s’agit de la capacité, pour certains groupes criminels, à établir et faire appliquer des règles alternatives au sein d’un territoire, à y exercer l’autorité et, dans certains cas, à se substituer aux fonctions de l’Etat. En d’autres termes, il s’agit de décider qui a le droit de faire quoi.
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Facts Only
* An study was published in the European Journal of Criminology in May 2025.
* The study involved Paolo Campana (Criminology Professor at Cambridge), Federico Varese, and Cecilia Meneghini.
* The topic studied was "criminal governance."
* Criminal governance involves criminal groups establishing and applying alternative rules within a territory.
* It includes exercising authority and potentially substituting state functions by deciding who has the right to act.
* The research focuses on the progressive transfer of legitimacy between the State and gangs in sectors influenced by drug trafficking.
* The risk of this transfer is insufficiently accounted for by media and public powers.
Executive Summary
A study published in the European Journal of Criminology in May 2025, conducted by Paolo Campana, Federico Varese, and Cecilia Meneghini, examined the concept of "criminal governance." The research highlights the progressive transfer of legitimacy between the State and criminal gangs, particularly in sectors influenced by drug trafficking. This transfer represents a major risk associated with organized crime, a danger that researchers suggest is often overlooked when public focus remains on specific violent incidents related to drug trafficking.
The concept of criminal governance is defined as the capacity for certain criminal groups to establish and enforce alternative rules within a territory, exercise authority, and potentially substitute state functions by determining who has the right to act. This suggests a dynamic where informal, criminal structures gain legitimacy that challenges official state authority.
Full Take
The framing positions criminal governance not merely as an internal dispute but as a systemic erosion of legitimate authority, creating a critical gap between official state mandates and localized enforcement realities. The core implication is that focusing solely on overt acts of violence, such as drug trafficking, allows the underlying structural shift—the transfer of legitimacy—to proceed unnoticed by public bodies and media. This creates an informational void where the mechanisms of governance are obscured while their consequences unfold.
The pattern observed is a deliberate deflection of analytical focus: immediate attention is captured by observable, high-profile crimes (violence) rather than the latent, structural evolution of power dynamics (legitimacy transfer). This echoes a systemic tendency to treat symptoms rather than understanding the underlying political economy of control. The risk is that public policy responses will remain reactive and superficial if the fundamental relationship between state legitimacy and criminal authority is not explicitly analyzed as a dynamic process.
What are the consequences for human agency? If governance shifts progressively, it means social and legal reality is being redefined by non-state actors, potentially undermining the foundation of the state's monopoly on legitimate force. The question then becomes: how does acknowledging this transfer change the mechanisms designed to maintain public order? What assumptions about the State's inherent legitimacy are we overlooking when we only observe violence as evidence, rather than governance as the mechanism?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like an excerpt from academic journalism, effectively introducing a complex concept by referencing specific research while maintaining a discursive, explanatory tone.