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Fast growing network of national contacts in the Sino-Italian affairs builds the important layer of subnational bilateral relations. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of paradiplomatical cooperation between Italian and Chinese regions. This paper contains a short overview of bilateral Italian-Chinese relations in political, economic and social terms. Furthermore there is a description of competences of the regions in the Italian foreign policy in term of legal environment for the autonomous activities of Italian regions in the international arena. Moreover this paper contains the analyses of existing links between Italian and Chinese regions on the basis of a survey conducted among regional authorities from all Italian regions. Finally it contains the case of Umbria, as a region that active cooperation with China goes well beyond economic relations. ; Publication financed by the National Science Centre, Poland. (Project number: 2015/19/B/HS5/02534 entitled "Rola regionów w polityce Unii Europejskiej wobec Chin/ The Role of Regions in the European Union Policy towards China")

Examines the intensity & forms of Italian environmental protest, 1988-1997, drawing on an analysis of 328 national-level events, 313 events in Milan, 222 events in Florence, & 168 events in Naples as reported in local newspapers. Protest peaked during the 1988-1990 period & fell of dramatically in 1996/97; possible explanations for the decline are provided, pondering if it was real or a function of changing political conditions & media orientations. Regional variation in the intensity of protest is next considered, finding a concentration in the north. Four major issues around which people mobilized included nature conservation, energy, pollution, urban & industrial claims, & animal welfare. Analysis of forms of protest reveals the overwhelming predominance of pressure over protest actions, which supports claims that the evolution of the Italian environmental movement is part of a broader cycle originating in the 1960s. Variation in mobilizations around different issues is briefly addressed before turning to the profile of environmental organizations involved in protest events; patterns of organizational cooperation are scrutinized, finding no clear trends in networking. Legambiente is seen to be a key environmental organization; media coverage of the issues that Legambiente & other prominent groups is explored, along with the characteristics of movement institutionalization & the notion of "problem ownership." It is concluded that, during this period, Italian environmental protest only partially resembles a sustained & large-scale movement. 10 Tables, 7 Figures. J. Zendejas

Examines the intensity & forms of Italian environmental protest, 1988-1997, drawing on an analysis of 328 national-level events, 313 events in Milan, 222 events in Florence, & 168 events in Naples as reported in local newspapers. Protest peaked during the 1988-1990 period & fell of dramatically in 1996/97; possible explanations for the decline are provided, pondering if it was real or a function of changing political conditions & media orientations. Regional variation in the intensity of protest is next considered, finding a concentration in the north. Four major issues around which people mobilized included nature conservation, energy, pollution, urban & industrial claims, & animal welfare. Analysis of forms of protest reveals the overwhelming predominance of pressure over protest actions, which supports claims that the evolution of the Italian environmental movement is part of a broader cycle originating in the 1960s. Variation in mobilizations around different issues is briefly addressed before turning to the profile of environmental organizations involved in protest events; patterns of organizational cooperation are scrutinized, finding no clear trends in networking. Legambiente is seen to be a key environmental organization; media coverage of the issues that Legambiente & other prominent groups is explored, along with the characteristics of movement institutionalization & the notion of "problem ownership." It is concluded that, during this period, Italian environmental protest only partially resembles a sustained & large-scale movement. 10 Tables, 7 Figures. J. Zendejas

The last political elections in March 2018 highlighted the issues connected to mi-gration and the flows of political refugees, making them central issues in the polit-ical agenda and in the public opinion. The electoral consensus with League North (Lega Nord) and its leader Matteo Salvini has increased across 2018 following an anti-migration rhetoric. Within this discursive frame, the issues of Islam and Mus-lim communities have drawn particular attention through the stereotype of their incompatibility with Christian and Western cultures, and claims that Islam is a re-ligion based on terrorism. The xenophobic and anti-Islam climate fostered by the traditional political players from the right wing, Lega Nord and Fratelli d'Italia, by the extreme-right movements (Casa Pound and Forza Nuova), and by the most con-servative branches of the mass media, such as Il Giornale, has caused very negative effects on a social level, legitimising racist behaviours. Physical and verbal attacks on immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and Muslim citizens have increased in the north and south of Italy, leading to dramatic events such as the wounding by gun-shot of six migrants from Nigeria in Macerata on 3 February and the murder of a Senegalese street seller, Idy Diene (54), in Florence on 5 March. Moreover, as out-lined by research (see Vox Diritti), the hate speech towards Muslim communities has increased, reflecting the birth of a widespread hostility in Italian society towards cultural diversity. The response of civil society, the democratic associations, and an important part of the Catholic world has definitely been consistent, but it appears to be ineffective in terms of opposing this drift. The collaboration between these realities and Muslim NGO is becoming more and more urgent in order to contain the situation that is jeopardising the democratic structures and the future of civil coexistence in Italy.

This study of the education system of Italy is part of the handbook "The education systems of Europe" which presents an analytical description of the education systems of all European countries, following common guidelines. The study begins with the historical and socio-cultural background of the Italian educational system which is followed by the description of the organizational and administrative context of the current education system. The next step is the functioning of the current education system, beginning with a structural overview and followed by an analysis of the different levels of the education system, including, as a separate chapter, post-secondary and tertiary education. The country study ends with an analysis of current discussions and opens perspectives for further development. A diagram illustrating the structural scheme of the Italian educational system is part of this article. (DIPF/Orig./Kie.).