In the 1970’s, there was a famous investigator who maintained that the mafia could be beaten by means of the “mobile squads”: i.e. opposing the mafia, crime by crime in a capillary way on the territory. On the contrary, the experience of the last twenty years has taught us that the criminal and crime-generating profile of the Italian mafia has assumed a decisively subversive character. “Cosa Nostra”, in particular, in its Corleone variant, has not been ‘satisfied’ to do its dirty business in its “zone of operations”, but has tried to openly oppose the State hoping to obtain – by the blackmail of indiscriminate killings of innocent victims and the murders of Institutional representatives - an improbable “recognition” of its power over the territory. The mafia is a subversive subject and for this reason, we reflect upon its characters in this issue, proposing three presentations on the theme: the forum, the “historical” narration and the results of an FBI research on the birth of the ‘Cosa Nostra’ in the United States. Three articles which try to form a picture of the mafia phenomenon from its historical, present day and evolutional (or) regressive aspects.

We then proceed with an analysis, in all its aspects, of the migration phenomena. This is debated in forum, by an illustrious high-level group of speakers. The group is composed of the Undersecretary of State, Alfredo Mantovano, the Director of SISMi, Nicolò Pollari, demografo Antonio Golini and the Director General of CENSIS, Giuseppe Roma.

While, on the front of international problems, we proceed with our reflections on Islamic terrorism (and the sources which finance it), on the various souls of Islam and their often conflicting relations with the Western culture, together with an examination - also philosophical - of the search for political answers to the problems raised by the jihadist terrorism. In this study, we are helped by the considerations of two Italian analysts, by a Spanish historian on the “expulsion” of the Arabs from medieval Spain (the “Reconquista”) and by two Italian scholars, united, not only by scientific passion, but also by the provenience of their families, in which one parent is, respectively, of Arab and Iranian origin. The female condition in Islam, Shiite or Sunnite, is one of the knots to undo on the path towards integration of the Moslem communities in the West and, as such, is a fact of (potential) stability or instability.

With regard to internal problems, we present three themes of interest: the first is on the discovery of the “web” – as a dialectical and communications instrument – on the part of Italian antagonism, while the other two themes regard historical considerations on the Red Brigades (B.R.), their political philosophy, and their international relations: these contributions concern essays which aim at defining the ideological and operative character of that which has been the most aggressive terrorist formation which has ever operated in our Country. Life imprisonment served to Nadia Lioce and companions, which marked the final defeat of the “new” Red Brigades, must not let us forget that at one time the Italian terrorists worked out much more dangerous theories and methods than what superficial analyses gave us to suppose, defining them as simple ‘ravings’. Today, the “brigades” are defeated. To continue studying them, analysing the theoretical and operative aspects, could be useful, not only from an historical research point of view, but also to create a base of knowledge useful to impede any attempts at a rebirth.