This course focuses on the basic aspects and evolution of the Italian political system since World War II, and on the problems related to regionalism and regional government in Italy. In the first part of the course, students are introduced to the institutional settings, political parties and main features of Italian society, as well as the political crisis of the nineties and its outcomes. In the second part, the focus is on the institutional performance of Italian regions and its historical and social determinants, up to the recent evolution of the “Northern Question” and Constitutional reforms. On completion of the course, students have an overview of the following topics:
The institutional and political landscape of Italy since the beginning of a republican and fully democratic political system (the so-called First Republic).
The changes to the Italian system in the nineties and the main characteristics of the Second Republic.
The territorial aspects of Italian politics and society and their historical roots.
The institutional settings and performance of Italian regions and related explanations.
Attendance policy:
Successful progress of the program depends on the full cooperation of both students and faculty members: regular attendance and active participation in class are essential parts of the learning process. Attendance at and participation in all class meetings and field-studies are required. More than TWO unjustified absences (that are not medically excused with a written certificate of the doctor or caused by serious sudden family and/or personal occurrences, as for example death of a family member) will result in a lowering of your grade.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students are able to:
identify the main features of the Italian political system
to critically evaluate its more recent evolution. They are expected, in particular, to be familiar with the issue of regionalism and with the "territorial dimension" of Italian politics and society.
Method of presentation:
Discussion, lecture, student presentation of news.
Required work and form of assessment:
Active class participation and class discussions (10%);formal discussion leadership-news presentation (10%); mid-term written exam (25%); final written exam (25%); 7-10 page final research paper and oral presentation (30%).
content:
Part One: Italian Politics and Society since World War II: An Introduction
1. Introduction: The context of Italian politics
2. Italian society: backwardness and modernity (I)
Readings: Paul Ginsborg, Italy and Its Discontents, 2001, Chapter 1 (pp. 1-29)
3. Italian society: backwardness and modernity (II)
Readings: Paul Ginsborg, Italy and Its Discontents, 2001, Chapter 2 (pp. 30-67)
4. Where is the power?
Readings: M. Donald Hancock et al. (eds.), Politics in Europe, 2002, pp. 270-291.
5. Democracy, Italian style: the party system until the 1990s
Readings: Paul Furlong, “Political Catholicism and the Strange Death of the Christian Democrats,” 1996.
Stephen Hellman, “Italian Communism in the First Republic,” 1996.
6. The Big Earthquake: explaining the breakdown of the First Republic
Readings: Paul Ginsborg, “Explaining Italy's Crisis,” 1996.
Leonardo Morlino and Marco Tarchi, “The Dissatisfied Society,” 1996, pp. 41-63.
7. Movie show and discussion: M. T. Giordana. The Best of Youth I (2003)
8. Politics in the Berlusconi Era: the new party system
Readings: Gianfranco Pasquino, “A Tale of Two Parties,” 2003, pp. 197-215.
Nicolò Conti, “The Italian Parties and their Programmatic Platforms: How Alternative?”, 2008, 451-464 (to be distributed by the instructor).
9. Movie show and discussion: M. T. Giordana. The Best of Youth II (2003)
10. Media and politics
Readings: Gianpietro Mazzoleni, “The Italian Broadcasting System between Politics and the Market,” 2000, pp. 157-168.
11. MID-TERM EXAM
12.Movie show and discussion: M. T. Giordana. The Best of Youth III (2003)
Part Two: Making Democracy Work: Nationalism and Regionalism in Italian Politics
13. The concept of civic culture
Readings: Gabriel Almond, “The Intellectual History of the Civic Culture Concept,” 1980.
Ronald Inglehart and Wayne E. Baker, “Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values,” 2000, pp. 19-51.
14. Italy: (un)civic culture?
Readings: Edward Banfield, The Moral Basis of a Backward Society, 1967, Ch. 1, 2, 5 (pp. 17-44 and 83-102).
Giacomo Sani, “The Political Culture of Italy: Continuity and Change,” 1980.
15. Italian Regions: civic traditions and institutional performance (I)
Readings: Robert D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work, 1993, Chapters 1 and 2.
16. Italian Regions: civic traditions and institutional performance (II)
Readings: Putnam, Chapters 3 and 4.
17. Italian Regions: civic traditions and institutional performance (III)
Readings: Putnam, Chapters 5 and 6.
18. Beyond Putnam: the Northern Question
Readings: Anna Cento Bull and Mark Gilbert, The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics, 2001, Chapter 1 (pp. 9-41).
Daniele Albertazzi and Duncan McDonnell, “The Lega Nord in the second Berlusconi government: In a league of its own”, 2005, pp. 952-972 (to be distributed by the instructor).
19. Student presentation of research papers
20. Civic culture, nationalism and regionalism in Italy: Review and final discussion
21. FINAL EXAM
Required readings:
Selections from:
Albertazzi, Daniele and Duncan McDonnell, “The Lega Nord in the second Berlusconi government: In a league of its own”, in West European Politics, Vol 28, No. 5 (2005), pp. 952-972
Almond, Gabriel. “The Intellectual History of the Civic Culture Concept”, in The Civic Culture Revisited, edited by Gabrile Almond and Sydney Verba, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1980.
Banfield, Edward. The Moral Basis of a Backward Society, Glencoe, Ill: The Free Press, 1967.
Bull, Anna Cento. “Towards a Federal State? Competing Proposals for a Revision of the Constitution and the Institutional Referendum of 7 October 2001,” in Politics in Italy, edited by Paola Bellucci and Martin Bull. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books, 2002.
Bull, Anna Cento and Mark Gilbert. The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics. Houndmills and New York: Palgrave, 2001.
Conti, Nicolò. “The Italian Parties and their Programmatic Platforms: How Alternative?”, in Modern Italy, Vol.13, No. 4 (2008), pp. 451-464.
Diamanti, Ilvo. “The Northern League: from regional party to party of government” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
Furlong, Paul. “Political Catholicism and the Strange Death of the Christian Democrats,” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
Ginsborg, Paul. “Explaining Italy's Crisis,” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
---. Italy and Its Discontents: Family, Civil Society, State 1980-2001. London: Penguin, 2001.
Hancock, M. Donald et al. (eds.). Politics in Europe: An Introduction to the Politics of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, and the European Union. London: Chatham House, 2002.
Hellman, Stephen. “Italian Communism in the First Republic,” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
Inglehart, Ronald and Wayne E. Baker. “Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values,” in American Sociological Review, Vol. 65, No. 1 (2000), pp. 19-51.
Mazzoleni, Gianpietro. “The Italian Broadcasting System between Politics and the Market,” in Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2000), pp. 157-168.
Morlino, Leonardo and Marco Tarchi. “The Dissatisfied Society: The Roots of Political Change in Italy,” in European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1996), pp. 41-63.
Pasquino, Gianfranco. “A Tale of Two Parties: Forza Italia and the Left Democrats,” in Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2 (2003), pp. 197-215.
Putnam, Robert D. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Sani, Giacomo, “The Political Culture of Italy: Continuity and Change,” in The Civic Culture Revisited, edited by Gabrile Almond and Sydney Verba, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1980.
Recommended readings:
The following book may be used as background reading and an introductory guide to Italian politics:
Cotta, Maurizio and Verzichelli, Luca. Political Institutions in Italy, Oxford University Press, 2007.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Francesco Marangoni is a research fellow at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bologna at Forlì. He earned his BA, MA in European Politics, and PH.D. in Comparative and European Politics from the university of Siena. He is affiliated with the Center for the Study of Political Science at the University of Siena, and with the Center for the Analysis of Public Policy at the University of Bologna. His main research interests include political elites, electoral institutions, and legislative behaviour.
This course focuses on the basic aspects and evolution of the Italian political system since World War II, and on the problems related to regionalism and regional government in Italy. In the first part of the course, students are introduced to the institutional settings, political parties and main features of Italian society, as well as the political crisis of the nineties and its outcomes. In the second part, the focus is on the institutional performance of Italian regions and its historical and social determinants, up to the recent evolution of the “Northern Question” and Constitutional reforms. On completion of the course, students have an overview of the following topics:
Successful progress of the program depends on the full cooperation of both students and faculty members: regular attendance and active participation in class are essential parts of the learning process. Attendance at and participation in all class meetings and field-studies are required. More than TWO unjustified absences (that are not medically excused with a written certificate of the doctor or caused by serious sudden family and/or personal occurrences, as for example death of a family member) will result in a lowering of your grade.
By the end of the course, students are able to:
Discussion, lecture, student presentation of news.
Active class participation and class discussions (10%);formal discussion leadership-news presentation (10%); mid-term written exam (25%); final written exam (25%); 7-10 page final research paper and oral presentation (30%).
Part One: Italian Politics and Society since World War II: An Introduction
1. Introduction: The context of Italian politics
2. Italian society: backwardness and modernity (I)
Readings: Paul Ginsborg, Italy and Its Discontents, 2001, Chapter 1 (pp. 1-29)
3. Italian society: backwardness and modernity (II)
Readings: Paul Ginsborg, Italy and Its Discontents, 2001, Chapter 2 (pp. 30-67)
4. Where is the power?
Readings: M. Donald Hancock et al. (eds.), Politics in Europe, 2002, pp. 270-291.
5. Democracy, Italian style: the party system until the 1990s
Readings: Paul Furlong, “Political Catholicism and the Strange Death of the Christian Democrats,” 1996.
Stephen Hellman, “Italian Communism in the First Republic,” 1996.
6. The Big Earthquake: explaining the breakdown of the First Republic
Readings: Paul Ginsborg, “Explaining Italy's Crisis,” 1996.
Leonardo Morlino and Marco Tarchi, “The Dissatisfied Society,” 1996, pp. 41-63.
7. Movie show and discussion: M. T. Giordana. The Best of Youth I (2003)
8. Politics in the Berlusconi Era: the new party system
Readings: Gianfranco Pasquino, “A Tale of Two Parties,” 2003, pp. 197-215.
Nicolò Conti, “The Italian Parties and their Programmatic Platforms: How Alternative?”, 2008, 451-464 (to be distributed by the instructor).
9. Movie show and discussion: M. T. Giordana. The Best of Youth II (2003)
10. Media and politics
Readings: Gianpietro Mazzoleni, “The Italian Broadcasting System between Politics and the Market,” 2000, pp. 157-168.
11. MID-TERM EXAM
12.Movie show and discussion: M. T. Giordana. The Best of Youth III (2003)
Part Two: Making Democracy Work: Nationalism and Regionalism in Italian Politics
13. The concept of civic culture
Readings: Gabriel Almond, “The Intellectual History of the Civic Culture Concept,” 1980.
Ronald Inglehart and Wayne E. Baker, “Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values,” 2000, pp. 19-51.
14. Italy: (un)civic culture?
Readings: Edward Banfield, The Moral Basis of a Backward Society, 1967, Ch. 1, 2, 5 (pp. 17-44 and 83-102).
Giacomo Sani, “The Political Culture of Italy: Continuity and Change,” 1980.
15. Italian Regions: civic traditions and institutional performance (I)
Readings: Robert D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work, 1993, Chapters 1 and 2.
16. Italian Regions: civic traditions and institutional performance (II)
Readings: Putnam, Chapters 3 and 4.
17. Italian Regions: civic traditions and institutional performance (III)
Readings: Putnam, Chapters 5 and 6.
18. Beyond Putnam: the Northern Question
Readings: Anna Cento Bull and Mark Gilbert, The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics, 2001, Chapter 1 (pp. 9-41).
Daniele Albertazzi and Duncan McDonnell, “The Lega Nord in the second Berlusconi government: In a league of its own”, 2005, pp. 952-972 (to be distributed by the instructor).
19. Student presentation of research papers
20. Civic culture, nationalism and regionalism in Italy: Review and final discussion
21. FINAL EXAM
Selections from:
Albertazzi, Daniele and Duncan McDonnell, “The Lega Nord in the second Berlusconi government: In a league of its own”, in West European Politics, Vol 28, No. 5 (2005), pp. 952-972
Almond, Gabriel. “The Intellectual History of the Civic Culture Concept”, in The Civic Culture Revisited, edited by Gabrile Almond and Sydney Verba, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1980.
Banfield, Edward. The Moral Basis of a Backward Society, Glencoe, Ill: The Free Press, 1967.
Bull, Anna Cento. “Towards a Federal State? Competing Proposals for a Revision of the Constitution and the Institutional Referendum of 7 October 2001,” in Politics in Italy, edited by Paola Bellucci and Martin Bull. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books, 2002.
Bull, Anna Cento and Mark Gilbert. The Lega Nord and the Northern Question in Italian Politics. Houndmills and New York: Palgrave, 2001.
Conti, Nicolò. “The Italian Parties and their Programmatic Platforms: How Alternative?”, in Modern Italy, Vol.13, No. 4 (2008), pp. 451-464.
Diamanti, Ilvo. “The Northern League: from regional party to party of government” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
Furlong, Paul. “Political Catholicism and the Strange Death of the Christian Democrats,” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
Ginsborg, Paul. “Explaining Italy's Crisis,” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
---. Italy and Its Discontents: Family, Civil Society, State 1980-2001. London: Penguin, 2001.
Hancock, M. Donald et al. (eds.). Politics in Europe: An Introduction to the Politics of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, and the European Union. London: Chatham House, 2002.
Hellman, Stephen. “Italian Communism in the First Republic,” in The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi, edited by Stephen Gundle and Simon Parker. Oxford: Routledge, 1996.
Inglehart, Ronald and Wayne E. Baker. “Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values,” in American Sociological Review, Vol. 65, No. 1 (2000), pp. 19-51.
Mazzoleni, Gianpietro. “The Italian Broadcasting System between Politics and the Market,” in Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2000), pp. 157-168.
Morlino, Leonardo and Marco Tarchi. “The Dissatisfied Society: The Roots of Political Change in Italy,” in European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1996), pp. 41-63.
Pasquino, Gianfranco. “A Tale of Two Parties: Forza Italia and the Left Democrats,” in Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 2 (2003), pp. 197-215.
Putnam, Robert D. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Sani, Giacomo, “The Political Culture of Italy: Continuity and Change,” in The Civic Culture Revisited, edited by Gabrile Almond and Sydney Verba, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1980.
The following book may be used as background reading and an introductory guide to Italian politics:
Cotta, Maurizio and Verzichelli, Luca. Political Institutions in Italy, Oxford University Press, 2007.
Francesco Marangoni is a research fellow at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bologna at Forlì. He earned his BA, MA in European Politics, and PH.D. in Comparative and European Politics from the university of Siena. He is affiliated with the Center for the Study of Political Science at the University of Siena, and with the Center for the Analysis of Public Policy at the University of Bologna. His main research interests include political elites, electoral institutions, and legislative behaviour.