italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
‘Back to the future 2 – The endless return of "the centre" in Italian politics’
Convenor: Daniele Albertazzi
By 2001, bipolarism seemed to have become consolidated in Italy with two relatively stable blocks of centre-left and centre-right having formed and, crucially, for the first time in the history of the Italian Republic, alternated in power with the victory of the centre-left Ulivo in 1996 and that of the centre-right Casa della Libertà in 2001. After decades in which the political system had been dominated by a party occupying ‘the centre’, Italy appeared to be moving closer to other European liberal democracies, closer to the model of a ‘normal country’, advocated by media commentators, scholars and politicians. The above represents only one side of the coin, however. The other side is that of two weak alliances which often appear little more than enforced ‘marriages of convenience’. In this climate of division, attempts to create a new ‘House of Moderates’ or, as it is now known, a ‘Third Pole’, have continued to receive attention in public debate. Following on from the panels on the ‘Return of the Centre’ that were hosted at the PSA in 2006, we might therefore ask, once again, where and what is ‘the centre’ in current Italian politics today? Is ‘the centre’ now staging yet another comeback or did it simply never go away? What are its chances of success and how can we assess these? Why has it gained such prominence over the last two years? And, finally, if Italy is still in transition and its political blocks and electoral system are still in flux, can we envisage party politics going ‘back to the future’?
I encourage papers that address these (and related) questions. Papers may focus either on one or more parties of ‘the centre’ or on the attitudes to ‘the centre’ by any left or right wing parties, and the two major electoral blocks. Comparisons between Italy and other western European countries are also welcome.
Paper abstracts (circa 250 words) should be sent by 30 September 2011 to: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Note: This panel is sponsored by the Italian Politics Specialist Group of the PSA. Although the group is unable to finance academics on permanent contracts wishing to attend the conference, it has a postgraduate/postdoctoral funding scheme which each year provides up to £600 for eligible members of the group (maximum of four) presenting a paper at one of the panels organized by it. In the case of postgraduates, such funding would only be considered for those who are already in receipt of the PSA access fund.
Dr Daniele Albertazzi
The University of Birmingham
College of Arts and Law
Ashley building, room 310
B15 2TT, UK.
Tel. **44 (0)121-4147503
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join italian-studies YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave italian-studies
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/italian-studies.html
|