Oltre la "mala Protezione Civile", l'emergenza come stile di governo

Emergency powers are generally required in extraordinary cases, such as when public safety is seriously threatened. However, in Italy their exercise is increasingly frequent, since the definition of «emergency» has been stretched to cover «big» and «mega» events. This article’s aim is to shed light over the «normal» functioning of the Italian Civil Protection Department, beyond the scandals which surrounded it since February 2010. After retracing the extension of the emergency’s definition, peculiar ways of governing by dispensation and outsourcing are explored. It is argued that such a style of government, generally justified in terms of efficiency, allows the introduction, the legitimation and the perpetration of opacity in governing ordinary situations.