Party organisational change in Italy (1991–2006)

This article analyses, adopting the well-known approach of Katz and Mair, the issue of organizational change within Italian political parties since 1990. In addition to an account of trends in membership, local units, finances, staff, and of changes in party statutes, the article aims at testing the widespread view in the literature that organizational resources–hence power–are becoming more and more concentrated in the hands of party and/or parliamentary leaders, and correspondingly that the territorial presence of parties is declining. The analysis of the change over time of Katz and Mair's party organisational ‘faces’ leads to the confirmation, to a large extent, of the overall hypothesis of a decline of the party at ground level, and a concentration of party resources in the central office, and above all in the party in public office.     

The CIA’s paramilitary operations during the cold war: an assessment

Using a representative sample of CIA paramilitary operations during the Cold War, this essay identifies continuities and discontinuities among administrations and analyses the responses of the US press and Congress to paramilitary operations. It wrestles with the meaning of success and failure. Success is defined, first, in a narrow sense – did the operations achieve the objectives set by the president of the United States? Then, it is defined more broadly: did the CIA’s paramilitary operations serve the national interests of the United States?     

How faculty recruitment shaped economic culture: the case of Italy 1900–1942

This article belongs to the area of university policy, viewed as an important example of the relationship between culture and power. As a case study, it utilizes the competitive exams for university chairs which took place in Italy for economic disciplines between 1900 and 1942. Interpreting the rules, the criteria and the outcomes of faculty recruitment, the article reconstructs an overall picture of the actors, themes and orientations, as well as the channels used to spread ideas. In this way, it clarifies important aspects of the influence exercised by the political sector over economic culture prior to and during fascism, in particular, in the formation of a consensus for government intervention in the Italian economy.     

Napoleon,Jefferson, and the Louisiana Purchase

Why did Napoleon sell Louisiana to the United States? Unfortunately, he left very few written traces of his Louisiana policy and, therefore, historians disagree. Their explanations tend to emphasise one of three factors: the diplomacy of President Thomas Jefferson; France's coming war with Britain; or the impact of the black rebels of the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti). The most heated disagreements revolve around the differing assessments of the role played by Jefferson. This article argues that Jefferson played no role in Napoleon's decision to sell the colony. It acknowledges that the British were crucial, because war with Britain meant that Louisiana would be lost to France. But why was Louisiana undefended? The troops Napoleon wanted to send there never arrived. They went instead to Haiti. And they remained there. If black resistance in Haiti had collapsed quickly, as Napoleon expected, there would have been thousands of French soldiers in Louisiana by the spring of 1803, when the French war with Britain began. By defeating Napoleon, the men whom Jefferson deemed ‘cannibals’ made it possible for him to acquire Louisiana and achieve what an eminent US historian has called his ‘greatest triumph’.     

Contexts and debates: Environmental intervention and water resource management in the history of the Mezzogiorno

This article shows how the discovery of electrical energy that could be transmitted and used in industry triggered a huge effort to take advantage of Southern Italy's water resources and improve its natural environment. In the early years of the twentieth century, primarily through the initiative of Francesco Saverio Nitti, the great statesman and environmental expert, the rivers and forests of the South became an object of particular attention in that they were to be the central element in conservation measures whose aim was to produce cheap electricity, but which also necessarily involved reforestation, state control of forestry, the embankment of rivers and other changes. For southern reformers such plans were envisaged as the way to launch industrialization in the South.     

New and old in the southern question

The southern question has been posed at the key moments in the history of the Italian state. Today we face a moment of comparable importance which urges that the southern question be re‐thought. It is not an unchanging question, yet it concerns issues fundamental to the state and has been treated by the country's greatest intellectuals as a national issue. The meridionalisti have been Italy's critical conscience yet, at the same time, stereotypes of a uniformly backward South have taken hold. The post‐war intervention in the Mezzogiorno should not be seen through such stereotypes as a wholly negative experience. Its successes and failures fit into an Italian pattern of state‐led modernization and it cannot be understood in isolation from the Italian state's weaknesses. Today, a new pact between the weakest and strongest sectors is essential. The South's economic and political leadership will be a central object of study if intellectuals are to help inform new policy.     

Sasanian glass from Veh Ardašīr: new evidences by ICP-MS analysis

Forty-seven glass fragments excavated at Veh Ardašīr, in central Iraq, were analysed by ICP-MS, determining 38 chemical elements; the samples represented finished objects as well as waste and raw glass. The obtained data point to the use of sodic plant ash for the production of glass in the entire Sasanian period (third–seventh century AD), strengthening previous results from another set of fragments from the same site. Magnesium and phosphorus contents give further evidence of the possible use of different kinds of plant ash, while trace element levels and some element correlations suggest the recourse to different silica sources. As a whole, the obtained results allow one to recognize three main glass compositions, related to the use of different silica sources combined with different kinds of plant ash. The occurrence of waste and raw glass in all groups of composition confirms that at least glass working took place in Veh Ardašīr.     

Influence of Short Segments in the Trabeation With Opposing Inclined Edges on the Seismic Vulnerability of the Marble Blocks Colonnade in the Archaeological Site of Pompeii

This study presents the vulnerability analysis of a masterpiece of the architectural heritage of the ancient city of Pompeii in Italy. First, a historical analysis of the structure is proposed; then finite element analyses are discussed to evaluate the seismic vulnerability of the colonnade today, including the effect of water leakage and pollutants in between the marble blocks of the structure. Pompeii, in fact, is a partially buried Roman town-city; after suffering many earthquakes in the past it was destroyed during a long catastrophic eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in 79 ad and remained covered until its accidental rediscovery in 1749. After excavations, the ruins of the ancient town present many partially collapsed buildings, not only due to other earthquakes during the past three centuries, but also due to rapid degradation of the archaeological material. Temples and public places mainly present slender columns and typical shapes of discrete marble overlaying blocks. In the case of the colonnade of the Forum, residing in the main square of the town, an “innovative solution” was adopted for the trabeation. To avoid long span beams over the columns, short segments were built up providing opposing inclined patterned edges. Numerical analyses show the seismic vulnerability of a colonnade, in order to understand how a UNESCO World cultural heritage site can be preserved. The beam segmentation was an “innovative solution” for that period aiming to simplify the constructability of those structures. This solution did not substantially alter the colonnade current seismic vulnerability. Nevertheless any contemporary alteration between blocks could potentially increase the colonnade’s seismic vulnerability, potentially putting at risk cultural heritage and human life.