LIBRI DI LETIZIA MANCINI

Il diritto rappresenta il mezzo attraverso il quale i diritti legati alla propria identità possono trovare riconoscimento, ma è al contempo un potente strumento di identificazione e di etichettamento, con conseguenze tutt’altro che trascurabili per le persone in termini di inclusione ed esclusione sociale. Il libro affronta queste tematiche e, con riferimento al contesto italiano, analizza il ruolo degli operatori del diritto – giudice e legislatore in particolare – nel riconoscere i diritti e nel favorire l’inclusione sociale, ricorrendo all’argomento della diversità culturale.

The term gypsy law is used to describe the set of rules perceived by the gypsies to be binding, the social control strategies within their groups and the mechanisms that have developed for solving disputes within the community. Since gypsy law is oral, anthropology of law probably offers the most appropriate perspective for its examination, in both theoretical and methodological terms. As the structure of the community’s law is naturally influenced by several aspects of gypsy culture, they are analysed here in brief: the nomadic lifestyle, diaspora and fragmentation that have long been characteristic features of the gypsy people; the social organisation found in the great majority of groups and, lastly, the family, an institution of fundamental significance, especially in determining the rôle played by each individual within the group.

The topic of citizenship and related rights is one of great political and legal importance at a time like the present, marked by a stable, significant presence of groups of immigrants. This essay expounds on the first results to have emerged in the course of a survey conducted in the Chinese community in Milan, whose aim is to analyse how this specific group of immigrants perceives its so-called citizenship rights. The immigrant Chinese population constitutes a particularly significant observatory, both because it is rooted in the city of Milan and because of the diversity of legal tradition and culture that has been held might reflect a significantly different conception of relationship between the citizen and the state from one of a Western matrix. The survey concentrates in particular on the immigrants' own opinions with regard to the rights and duties of the citizen, the relationships between the citizen and the state and the political participation of immigrants. The analysis of these topics is related closely to the various different methods by which Chinese immigrants in Milan have acclimatised to the socio-economic fabric: methods which are more likely than other elements to have a significant influence on any personal perception of the rights of citizenship.