ABSTRACT
Italy from Crisis to Crisis seeks to understand Italy’s approach to crises by studying the country in regional, international, and comparative context. Without assuming that the country is abnormal or unusually crisis-prone, the authors treat Italy as an example from which other countries might learn.
The book integrates the analysis of domestic politics and foreign policy, including Italy’s approach to military interventions, energy security, economic relations with the European Union (EU), and to the NATO alliance, and covers a number of issues that normally receive little attention in studies of "high politics," such as information policy, national identity, immigration, youth unemployment, and family relations. Finally, it puts Italy in a comparative perspective – with other European states, naturally – but also with Latin America, and even the United States, all countries that have experienced similar crises to Italy’s and similar – often populist – responses.
This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of, and courses on, Italian politics and history, European politics and, more broadly, comparative politics and democracy.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|32 pages
Introduction
part II|70 pages
The political-economic nexus
chapter 2|23 pages
The canary in the coal mine
part III|50 pages
Foreign, energy, and security policy
chapter 5|14 pages
Italian foreign policy after the Cold War
chapter 7|17 pages
Between shocks and crises
part IV|79 pages
Societal change and adaptation
chapter 9|31 pages
An Italian “integration crisis”
chapter 11|13 pages
Crisis or Improvisation?
part V|14 pages
Conclusion