Italy From Crisis to Crisis : Political Economy, Security, and Society in the 21st Century

Italy from Crisis to Crisis seeks to understand Italy's approach to crises by studying the country in regional, international, and comparative context. Without assuming that the country is abnormal or unusually crisis-prone, the authors treat Italy as an example from which other countries might learn. The book integrates the analysis of domestic politics and foreign policy, including Italy's approach to military interventions, energy security, economic relations with the European Union (EU), and to the NATO alliance, and covers a number of issues that normally receive little attention in studies of "high politics," such as information policy, national identity, immigration, youth unemployment, and family relations. Finally, it puts Italy in a comparative perspective - with other European states, naturally - but also with Latin America, and even the United States, all countries that have experienced similar crises to Italy's and similar - often populist - responses. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of, and courses on, Italian politics and history, European politics and, more broadly, comparative politics and democracy.-- Provided by Publisher Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Acknowledgments Part I Introduction 1 Italy in crisis: Eppur si muove Change, crisis, and transition Upheaval in the party system Societal, familial, and individual transformations Crisis and contradiction in the Italian political economy Separatism and center-local relations Crisis of participation and the prospect of populism Overview of the volume The political-economic nexus Foreign, energy, and security policy Societal change and adaptation Notes Bibliography Part II The political-economic nexus 2 The canary in the coal mine: Movements, parties and populists in the Italian crises Italy as “the canary in the coal mine” Enter populism “Il Sessantotto:” a crisis within the party system What was new, what was old? The crises of the early 1990s The referendum movement Berlusconi or “il partito/movimento personale” From the “male del Nord” to the rise of the Lega The “Great Recession” and the de-alignment of the party system Realignment and de-alignment crises Back to Europe Realigning and de-aligning political responses Conclusions Notes Bibliography 3 Disembedding the Italian economy?: Four trajectories of structural reform Introduction Italy’s “First Republic” miracle: a sheltered economy or an embedded economy? From miracle to misery: economic performance in the Second Republic Explaining economic decline: why do structural reforms fail? Structural reforms in the Second Republic: four trajectories Trajectory 1: Failed disembedding. The case of administrative reform Trajectory 2: Liberalization without re-embedding. The case of labor market reform Trajectory 3: Dysfunctional re-embedding. The case of judicial reform Trajectory 4: Functional re-embedding. The case of welfare state reform Conclusion: political transformation and the embedded Italian economy Notes Bibliography 4 The trickle-down of corruption: Italy, Mafia, and the crisis of legality Introduction: the Italian anomaly Retelling the story of the “Years of Lead” 1992, building on the Palermo-Milan nexus Criminal clusters at home and abroad The colonization of Central and Northern Italy Conclusion: Italy as a “real democracy” Notes References Part III Foreign, energy, and security policy 5 Italian foreign policy after the Cold War: Crisis and the limits of a post-ideological foreign policy Bibliography 6 Running in chains: The transformation of Italian defense policy The evolution of Italian defense policy Military operations abroad Strategic documents Evolution, obstacles, and crisis Legacies in action Unbalanced budget (Old) strategic narratives Lack of strategic reflection (and national stakeholders) A (brief) comparative perspective Conclusions Notes Bibliography 7 Between shocks and crises: Changes in Italian energy policies from the Cold War to today Introduction The peculiarity of Italy’s energy policies Italy’s energy policies during the Cold War Entering the age of oil shocks and crises Towards the end of the Cold War – and beyond From the 2008 crisis to today Note Bibliography Part IV Societal change and adaptation 8 Where have all the young people gone?: Generations, family, and work in Italy Introduction Degiovanimento (De-juvenation) Young people in Italy: conspicuous by their absence Young people in the labor market Young and old generations in Italy To be and not to be a generation Generation with a suitcase Family and welfare Italian style Italian women, men, work, and family Parents, children, and grandparents La generazione dello scambio dei posti (The generation that takes turns) Note Bibliography 9 An Italian “integration crisis”: The role of the state and political actors in excluding immigrants and ethnic ... Italy’s transformation into a multiethnic society The marginalization of immigrants in the labor market and labor exploitation Exclusionary citizenship and migration laws The “racist wave”: exclusionary practices and discourses The ambiguous role of the Left Placing the Italian case in the European debate on the “integration crisis” Notes Bibliography 10 “Va Pensiero”: The evolution of Italy’s information society Introduction Information technologies and society in Italy Censorship and privacy (Cyber) crimes and punishment? Conclusion: “Va Pensiero”? Notes Bibliography 11 Crisis or Improvisation?: A historical meditation on Italian post-war political development Identifying contemporary Italy Post-War and the flexible Italian national identity The practical meaning of Italian national identity The force of the unexpected: 1989 and 1994 The strength of weak Italian national identities and European possibilities Running against the grain: Italy from 2009 to the present Improvising the future Bibliography Part V Conclusion 12 The Italian crisis in comparative perspective Contextualizing the Italian and Southern European crises The politics of economic adjustment in Southern Europe Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index The book seeks to understand Italy’s approach to crises by studying the country in regional, international, and comparative context. Without assuming that the country is abnormal or unusually crisis-prone, the authors treat Italy as an example from which other countries might learn.