Vincenzo Ruggiero

He has conducted research on behalf of the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), the British Home Office, the European Commission and the United Nations.[2]

He has worked on; penal systems, organised and corporate crime, state crimes and the crimes of the powerful, and also on sociological and urban issues, social movements, political violence and war.[1]

He has published extensively in international academic journals, and his books include: Western European Penal Systems (1995), Eurodrugs (1995), Organised and Corporate Crime in Europe (1996), The New European Criminology (1998), Crime and Markets (2000), Movements in the City (2001), Economic and Financial Crime in Europe (2002), Crime in Literature (2003), The Crimes of the Economy (2013), London: Routledge, Punishment in Europe (2013) (with M. Ryan), London: Palgrave/Macmillan, I crimini dell'economia (2013), Milan: Feltrinelli,[3] Power and Crime (2015), London and New York: Routledge, Perché i potenti delinquono (2015), Milan: Feltrinelli; Dirty Money: On Financial Delinquency (2017), Oxford: Oxford University Press; Visions of Political Violence (2019), London and New York: Routledge; Organised Crime and Terrorist Networks (ed.; 2020), London and New York: Routledge.

He was nominated as Distinguished International Academic by the American Society of Criminology (2000), received the Premio Nazionale G. Arena for the book Movements in the City (2002), and was nominated for the Hindelang Award by the American Society of Criminology for the book Crime in Literature (2004). In 2016 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Criminology (Division on Critical Criminology) for his contribution to critical thought in criminology.[1]

The following are comments about two of Ruggiero's recent books. On Power and Crime:

"A penetrating, passionate and profound critical analysis on the intimate inter-relations of crime and power. Whilst the everyday criminal 'justice'| process and the sadistic scapegoating of the popular media continue to demonise the deviance of the powerless, in the wake of the financial crisis and proliferating elite scandals this smokescreen is ever harder to maintain. Ruggiero marshals his considerable learning in many fields - philosophy, social and political theory, economics, literature, as well as conventional criminology - to demonstrate that contrary to the obfuscations of official statistics and the mass media, crime in the broadest sense is the twin of power. The book is an impressive illumination of vital issues, from one of the most sophisticated and erudite contemporary criminological theorists" (Robert Reiner, Emeritus Professor of Criminology, London School of Economics, UK).

On Visions of Political Violence:

"'With typical panache and erudition, Vincenzo Ruggiero offers an unusual and original take on political violence. Drawing on philosophy and political science, his analysis ranges over territory that incorporates systemic and institutional violence, riot, terrorism and war. Within political violence Ruggiero finds the source of many of the greatest dangers we face as well as the potential for emancipation and liberation" (Tim Newburn, Professor of Criminology and Social Policy, London School of Economics, UK).

In 2019 Ruggiero received the Outstanding Book Award given by the American Society of Criminology Division of White Collar and Corporate Crime for his book Dirty Money: On Financial Delinquency (Oxford University Press, 2017).