Introduction: not a normal election: roots and consequences

The March 2018 Italian general elections can be described as a historic turning point, another watershed moment in the turbulent history of contemporary Italian politics. After a stormy and complex legislative term, characterized by a variety of institutional and political phenomena, Italy has faced one of the most important electoral challenges since the return of democracy in the mid-1940s. After examining the major political events that led to the latest general elections, this introductory article presents and analyses the rules, the actors and the outcomes of the electoral contest that has seen the victory of two anti-establishment parties: the Five Star Movement and the League. In the concluding section, the article discusses the potential tensions that may emerge from the clash between the populist attitude of the new governing parties and the constitutional constraints of a liberal democratic regime.     

何谓“赫梯学”?——论赫梯学研究的对象和范畴

赫梯学的研究包括哪些内容?这个问题看似简单,答案清楚,实则不然。国内世界古代史学界通常将其局限在一个双重狭义的层面上。纵观赫梯人历史文化发展的客观事实以及国际赫梯学的研究和发展现状,可以发现这样的认识有待商榷。只有通过交流与讨论,在中国,赫梯学才能得到正确的认识,从而得到真正的重视和科学的发展。     

Garibaldi and Mazzini: thought and action

Abstract

The relationship between Mazzini and Garibaldi is described in its ideological roots and in its political developments, in order to show their different attitude towards the Italian unification. Although their first misunderstanding happened during the Roman Republic in 1849, Mazzini's influence is still strong in the organization and in the success of the liberation of Two Sicilies in 1860, particularly through Francesco Crispi. The final personal break was caused by the unlucky experience of the Mentana expedition (1867), when Garibaldi failed to free Rome. Fundamental ideas as democracy, republic, social justice, humanity and universal brotherhood have been however always common to them. The two protagonists of Risorgimento never intended accepting the role to which their fateful encounter prompted them – the one to provide the brawn and the other the brains for Italy's liberation. Just as Mazzini never renounced involving himself in the operational decisions of the movement, Garibaldi never gave up his own way of thinking and looking at things.     

Kennedy and Cuba: Then and Now

Book reviewed:
Sheldon Stern. Averting 'the Final Failure': John F. Kennedy and the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis Meetings . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003. 496 pp. Illus. $35.00 (cloth).
Alice L. George. Awaiting Armageddon: How Americans Faced the Cuban Missile Crisis . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Illus., notes, bibliography, index. $29.95 (cloth).