Italy's third fall

Abstract

The collapse of the Italian political system in 1992–3 provoked enormous discussion among students of Italian politics and history on the character and causes of the crisis. Through a reading of some of the most important scholarly works on the subject, this article underlines that the end of the former regime in Italy is increasingly being explained as the outcome of a complex combination of political misjudgements and structural socioeconomic factors, and not just as a secondary consequence of the end of the Cold War.     

Italy's political system since 1989

This essay follows the development of the Italian political system over the last twenty-five years, starting from the collapse of the principal political parties that had previously dominated the history of the Republic. In institutional terms, it seems legitimate to describe this as a transition, since the outcomes of initiatives to reform the electoral system, to abolish the previous system of ‘perfect bicameralism’, and reshape relations between the State and the regions are still unknown. But I argue that many fundamental changes in the relationship between the country and its political system were already evident in the 1980s.     

揭秘茂陵

一个雄才大略创立了空前强盛帝国的君王,随着一部<汉武大帝>的播出,令人激情豪迈热泪纵横.而今,这位2000年前就己辞世的盛世之君安身何处呢?     

Local autonomies and economic development in Italy's incomplete transition

Since the 1990s Italy's autonomous local governing bodies have experienced important changes in their powers and functions in ways that have been shaped by national and international developments. The two decades of Italy's ‘transition’ have seen structural changes in the system that enabled the country in the second half of the twentieth century to take a place at the centre of the world economic system. But the evidence of the last two decades indicates that the changes that have taken place do not constitute a transition, but reveal instead a country that in terms of its politics and the economy is living an extremely diversified and complex phase of its history. This essay explores these processes at the level of the provinces and local government, showing how their capacity to contribute, locally and nationally, to growth through increasing territorial competiveness has been hampered by uncertainties resulting from the reforms that have been introduced and by growing financial restrictions.     

Leaders,dreams and journeys: Italy's new political communication

This article argues that the modernization of Italian political campaigns and their relationship with the media have led parties and candidates to reconceptualize both their symbols and their rhetorical visions. In contrast to the past, Italian political communication now appears clearly 'Americanized' and candidate-centred. Candidates evoke symbolic visions stressing leadership and personal characteristics instead of referring to the ideological and party symbols that dominated the old campaigns. As in the USA, dreams and journeys are now used in Italy as political images, and communication focuses on the construction of leadership. The author argues, however, that despite these similarities, the Italian personalization of politics differs in many respects from that found in the USA, above all in the lack of institutionalization of political symbols in Italy.     

Containing containment: rethinking Italy's experience during the Cold War

This article examines the impact of the Cold War on the Italian political system. It compares the relations of the two main Italian parties - the DC and the PCI - with their external interlocutors and allies - the USA and the USSR - during the first decade of the Cold War. By doing so, the article rejects traditional interpretations of how post-Second World War international constraints limited Italy's sovereignty. It argues instead that the main Italian pro-western party, the Christian Democrats, deliberately opted for a policy of containment of American pressures. Such a policy was functional to the twin objectives of consolidating DC hegemony, and safeguarding Italy's new republican constitution.     

Italy's unfinished transition: between domestic dynamics and international change

In the early 1990s, Italy was drawn into a spiral of unprecedented transformation precipitated by changes that were taking place both inside Italy and on the international scene. Financial, political and institutional crises were superimposed in ways that brought into question the survival of the whole Italian system. This occurred at a moment when world geo-political relations were shifting dramatically and radically changing established relations, attitudes and policies and marked the beginning of a long period that is often described as a ‘transition’. But since the outcomes still remain far from certain, it is necessary to consider how accurately this term describes what has been taking place in Italy over the last two decades. This paper shows how more careful identification of the different phases and components of the crisis enable us to understand why the upheavals of 1992–94 have led to a systemic crisis of the Italian economy and politics.     

意大利公众参与文化遗产保护的经验与启示

意大利公众参与遗产保护已成为一种民族自觉。意大利公众参与文化遗产保护的经验主要集中在重视吸引公众参与遗产社会教育、加强公众参与遗产保护法律建设、保障公众参与遗产保护渠道等三个方面。意大利的经验启示我们,中国遗产管理也应在这三个方面加强建设。     

Italy's foreign policy toward China: missed opportunities and new chances

Abstract

This essay provides an account of the erratic and troubled history of the relations between Italy and the People's Republic of China since the 1950s. After reaching their highest point in the two years immediately following the Tiananmen events – when Italy, more than any other Western country, worked to break China's international isolation – they have considerably frozen for a long time. The reason has to be found not only in the crisis that, since 1992, has overcome the Italian political system, but even more so in the structural limits of Italy's economic foreign policy and in the lack of a coherent strategy aimed at promoting Italian goods in world markets that provide huge opportunities – opportunities mostly neglected by the political-economic Italian establishment. The Berlusconi government replaced this negligence with fear-mongering behavior and recurring and outspoken protectionist remarks of various centre-right leaders, who feared the potential damage caused by China's increased competitiveness (which represented, in their opinion, an unfair trade practice) to the national industry. Though too recent to say if it will bear fruit, Prodi has made a desperate attempt for Italy to make up lost ground by leading to China what has been emphatically defined ‘the greatest institutional and business mission ever organized by Italy’ just a few months after his comeback to Palazzo Chigi.     

Institutional alignment: The anniversary of Italy's 150 years of unity

This article introduces the concept of institutional alignment, referring to the contemporary convergence of a number of institutions (political, governmental, economical, clerical and media) working to hegemonize legitimate knowledge and privilege certain issues. In such instances institutions are called upon to align themselves in terms of narrative style, use of lexicon, symbolic array and, most importantly, the diffusion of a homogeneous and approved truth. Institutional alignment has been implemented in the last few years in Italy on a number of issues crucial to the ideological and economic preservation of the established order: the support for the wars conducted by the Italian armed forces under the guise of humanitarian intervention, especially during periods of patriotic mourning; the backing for the construction of large public infrastructural projects; the condemnation of what is labelled as ‘political violence’; the protection of policies said to generate ‘economic and financial stability’. The issue is illustrated with reference to the celebrations for the anniversary of Italy's 150 years of unity. The agencies involved in promoting a uniform representation in this context are examined. Finally, the frailty of the hegemonic grip is discussed.     

Cultural capitals and cosmopolitanism in eighteenth-century Italy: the historiography and Italy on the Grand Tour

This article reviews the most recent body of literature in the English language that revisits cultural developments of eighteenth-century Italy in light of the internationalism of the peninsula in that period. In particular, it seeks to show how a consideration of the rhetorical strategy of the Grand Tour has both generated a discrete field of study as well as informed the work of a broad range of cultural historians seeking to identify and account for those innovations unique to Italy's eighteenth century.     

Tangentopoli or the democratization of corruption: Considerations on the end of Italy's first republic

Emilio Sereni (1997) History of the Italian Agricultural Landscape, translated and Introduction by R. Burr Litchfield. Giovanni Agnelli Foundation in Italian History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press), pp. i‐xliv, 1–369, ISBN 0–691012164 hardback; ISBN 0–691012156 paperback.

Peter Brand and Lino Pertile (eds) (1996) The Cambridge History of Italian Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 1–701.

Bruno Bongiovanni and Nicola Tranfaglia (eds) (1996) Dizionario storico dell'Italia unita (Rome‐Bari: Laterza), pp. 1–1031, 95,000 lire, ISBN 88–420–5081–4.

Giuseppe Maranini (1995) Storia del potere in Italia 1848–1967, prefazione di Angelo Panebianco, 2nd edn (Milan: Corbaccio), pp. 1–530; Mariuccia Salvati (1997) Riflessioni sul Leadership nella storia dell'Italia contemporoneo (Rome‐Bari: Laterza), pp. 1–156.

Domenico Del Rio (1996) I Gesuiti e l'Italia. Storia di passioni, di trionfi e di amarezze (Milan: Corbaccio), pp. 1–522, ISBN 88–7972–111–9 hardback.

Anna Foa (1998) Giordano Bruno (Bologna: Il Mulino), pp. 1–107, 16,000 lire, ISBN 88–15–06604–7.

Roland Sarti (1997) Mazzini. A Life for the Religion of Politics (Westport, Conn.: Praeger), pp. 1–249, ISBN 0–275–95080–8 hardback.

Jonathan Dunnage (1997) The Italian Police and the Rise of Fascism: a Case Study of the Province of Bologna, 1897–1925 (Westport, Conn.: Praeger), pp. i‐xvi, 1–198, $57.95, ISBN 0–275–95286–1 hardback.

Jane Slaughter (1997) Women and the Italian Resistance, 1943–1945 (Denver, Colo: Arden Press) pp. i‐xx, 1–171, $32.00, ISBN 0–912869–13–5 hardback.

Gabriele Turi (ed.) (1997) Storia dell'editoria nell'ltalia contemporanea (Florence: Giunti Gruppo Editoriale), pp. 1–503, 48,000 lire, ISBN 88–09–21236–3.

Carlo Guarnieri and Patrizia Pederzoli (1997) La democrazia giudiziaria (Bologna: Il Mulino), pp. 1–186, 18,000 lire, ISBN 88–15–05706–4 paperback.

Alessandro Brogi (1996) L'ltalia e l'egemonia americana nel Mediterraneo (Scandicci (Florence): La Nuova Italia. Editrice), pp. 1–425 pages (including appendix of documents, bibliography, and index of names), 40,000 lire, ISBN 88–221–1752–2.     

Taking sides: cosmopolitanism,internationalism and ‘complex solidarity’ in the work of Fred Halliday

Fred Halliday's life and work were intimately associated with the theory and practice of internationalism. In his later writings, the notion of ‘complex solidarity’ emerges as a key component of Halliday's worldview. This article explores the conceptual interconnections between different historical expressions of internationalism, cosmopolitanism and solidarity. It considers the intricate relationship between these categories and their place in our understanding of international affairs, emphasizing the divergence between liberal and revolutionary conceptions of internationalism and cosmopolitanism. The article discusses diverse understandings of ‘solidarity’ in International Relations, arguing that beyond the cosmopolitan and communitarian approaches, there exist other ‘Grotian’ and ‘republican’ ideas of solidarity. Halliday drew on these to present his own defence of universal human rights and solidarity, arguably developing a distinctive brand of republican internationalism. The latter part of the article gives content to ‘complex solidarity’ by suggesting it is built on three inter‐related components: a methodological internationalism, an egalitarian reciprocity and a critique of global capitalism. Overall, these guiding features of complex solidarity deliver a unique rendition of internationalism which reflect Halliday's eclectic combination of radical liberalism with a residual historical materialism.