Italy Today: The Sick Man of Europe

Italy Today represents one of the most comprehensive examinations of contemporary Italy. It is a provocative and an innovative collection that aims to highlight the current ‘crisis’ of the country through an analysis of several different ‘dark shadows’ of contemporary Italian society.

Italy already had a long history of ‘unsolved’ issues, several chronic problems and contradictions that have been ignored for a very long time, during which they have assumed dramatic proportions and gravity. The peninsula has now become the ‘Sick Man of Europe’, a country facing a veritable decline also caused by apparent incapacity and difficulties of the ruling economic, political and social elites.

Discussions include:



an evaluation of the current predicaments of the political system
analysis of emerging mafias, including new powerful crime organizations such as ‘Ndrangheta
issues surrounding the ongoing presence of Fascism
examination of the recent xenophobic tensions
discussion of problems associated with the missed opportunity of the EU funding, and the increasing regional economic gaps
outline of the systemic troubles of Italy’s economic and industrial system.


Written by leading experts in the field and covering a wide range of topics, this collection is essential reading for all those seeking to understand the issues and problems that are facing contemporary Italy.

Andrea Mammone is a Lecturer in Modern European History at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.

Giuseppe A. Veltri is Lecturer is teaching Methods of Social Inquiry at University of East Anglia . Giuseppe A. Veltri is a Lecturer in Media and Culture at University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.

Preface Paul Corner 1. A ‘Sick Man’ in EuropeA. Mammone & G. Veltri Part I: Politics and Society 2. Elites and the democratic disease Carlo Carboni 3. Common manifestoes and coalition governance: How Italian political leaders missed the window of opportunity Catherine Moury 4. The programmatic convergence of the Italian parties and their weakness in the policy-making Nicolò Conti 5. When politics matters: Federalism, Italian style Christophe Roux 6. Family Politics, the Catholic Church and the transformation of family life in the Italian second republic Stefania Bernini 7. The Italian media between market and politics Chris Hanretty Part II: History, Memory and Politics 8. The legacy of the Strategy of Tension and the armed conflict in a context of (non)reconciliation Anna Cento Bull 9. Fascism as Heritage in contemporary Italy Joshua Arthurs Part III: Institutional(ized) Exclusion? 10. The Northern League and its 'innocuous' xenophobia Martina Avanza 11. "Gypsies out of Italy!": Social exclusion and racial discrimination of Roma and Sinti Nando Sigona 12. The Catholic Church, universal truth, and the debate on national identity and immigration: a new model of ‘selective solidarity’ Eva Garau Part IV: Mezzogiorno: a never ending problem 13. The strongest mafia: ‘Ndrangeta made in Calabria Ercole Giap Parini 14. Revisiting Naples: Clientelism and organized crime Felia Allum and Percy Allum Part V: Economy and political economy 15. Industrialization, Convergence and Governance: the case of Italy Alfonsina Iona, Leone Leonida & Giuseppe Sobbrio 16. 20 years of European funding: Italy still struggling with implementation Simona Milio 17. Labour and Welfare Reforms: The Short Life of Labour Unity in Contemporary Italy Marco Simoni 18. The crisis of family firms and the decline of Italian capitalism Raoul Minetti