Italy

The main purpose of this book is to make readily available leading articles on Italian politics published over the last 25 years. The book was compiled during an unusually turbulent period even by Italian standards, after having had three general elections in four years, 1992-1996, and an entirely new configuration of political parties vying to manage Italy. This has lead to a bout of heightened interest in Italian politics, particularly as this crisis encapsulates many of the challenges confronting the advanced capitalist democracies more generally, such as the weakening of established dominant parties. Volumes I and II, both presented here, aim to explore the evolution of Italian politics from the post-war period to the current crisis, giving an historical perspective. Each of the two volumes comprises of three parts. The first volume examines the government and politics of the post-war period from a largely conventional institutional perspective, then follows a section devoted to policy areas, and a final part exploring the onset of the present crisis.
The second volume emphasises the need for a multi-focused historical perspective on what is a "transition within democracy", and examines major issues of historical interpretation ranging from consideration of Italy's path to the 20th century and modernization, to the debate over the role of the bourgeoisie in Italian past and present, and the role of political parties in the long post-fascist consolidation of democracy. The final part identifies deep-seated obstacles to reform.