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The changes in the electoral & party system at the beginning of the 1990s had clear consequences on attitudes & behavior of Italian ordinary citizens. By looking at the feature of political competition through the analysis of several public opinion surveys, three main results can be shown. First, with respect to the self-placement on the Left-Right dimension, Italian voters "discovered the Right." Second, party locations on the Left-Right continuum became an unsettled aspect of the electoral competition: in particular, citizen perception of party placement changed according with the overall pattern of their alliances. Finally, several cues suggest that a new political entity appeared on the Italian political landscape: the coalition. From the voter perspective, Center-Left & Center-Right alliances (including their candidates) turned out to be among the main actors of the electoral competition. At least a fourth of Italian voters made use of a judgment criterion based on an amicus/hostis logic. Hence, we concluded that the (perceived) fight between party coalitions is exploited as an easy shortcut for electoral choice. 2 Tables, 6 Figures, 58 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article analyses government popularity in Italy during the post-1992 period. In earlier times public opinion approval of the government had little political & electoral relevance. With the enactment of a new electoral law & the change of the party system, the ensuing alternation in government of different political coalitions makes meaningful a study of what drives government approval. The analysis is grounded in the "reasoning voter/valence politics" paradigm, according to which government performance can reinforce or discount voters' party preference profiles. Two analyses are carried out, one at the aggregate level & one at the individual level. Regarding the former, a time-series model of monthly government ratings is fitted to both Centre-Left (1996-2001) & Centre-Right (2001-2006) governments, with findings showing that economic (consumers') expectations & international events mainly explain government popularity. Such conclusion is confirmed also from the individual level analysis: voters' approval of the government depends on the perception of economic conditions which, in turns, influences the assessment of government competence. Both outgoing Centre-Left (2001) & Centre-Right (2006) political coalitions were then defeated because of the low standing in the popular approval. Finally, the article discusses the importance of government leadership in contemporary Italian politics. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI); Partito Democratico di Sinistra (PDS). Discusses transformation of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) into the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) as portrayed in two books published in 1992 and 1997. Summary in English. "Dal PCI al PDS", Bologna, Il Mulino, 1992, by C. Baccetti and "Il PDS", Bologna, Il Mulino, 1997, by P. Ignazi.

The paper analyzes the evolution of public opinion attitudes on transatlantic issues in United States & the European countries. The paper distinguishes two main periods in Transatlantic Relations & examines the evolution of foreign policy attitudes in these two periods. A first period, during the Cold War, was characterized by a foreign policy consensus on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, this consensus was based on the combination of Atlanticism & Europeanism. With different emphasis in the different countries the Atlantic & European choice were seen as crucial to insure the domestic political stability & the foreign policy security. While in Europe the Cold War consensus was first based on a Center-Right coalition & later on extended to the Left, as a consequence of the post-Stalinism & the increasing institutionalization of European integration. In the United States it combined the Liberal & Conservative wings. This consensus broke down as a consequence of the Vietnam war & the detente crisis in the '70s. In Europe, the main consequence was the fracturing of the Left-Right consensus on foreign policy. This double cleavage has been brought forth during the Post-Cold War period & it has manifested itself in its starker way after the 9/11 events & a more unilateralist American foreign policy. The author discusses the different structure of public opinion in Europe ad the United States might have played in the tense relationships between Europe & US during the Iraq war. 4 Tables, 39 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article analyzes the "dramatizing mobilization" of the electorate that took place in the Italian general elections of 2001. The author suggests that the electoral campaign has been focused mainly on the choice "for" or "against" Berlusconi, which may have somewhat simplified the voting decision. However, it could also have stimulated the electoral participation, since turnout has been greater than expected. In the Center-Left, the "dramatizing mobilization" seems to have mainly favored the new aggregation called "Margherita." In the Center-Right, the same phenomenon helps explain why the "Casa delle Liberta" coalition has received a number of votes in the "plurality" vote significantly lower than the sum of the votes obtained by its individual parties in the "proportional" vote. Finally, the analysis suggests that the "dramatizing mobilization" brought a positive effect for the Center-Left coalition, stimulating mostly the vote "against" Berlusconi. 5 Tables, 4 Figures, 5 References. Adapted from the source document.

For at least a quarter of a century, sociologists, political scientists, & political analysts wondered if & how classical social variables -- in the first place those related to socio-structural cleavage -- which for decades had guided the analyses of political behavior & attitudes, could be capable of "explaining" the variance of electoral behavior today. Our empirical research consisted in building up an explanatory model for electoral choice in Italy, having -- in three subsequent steps -- social cleavages (class, religion & territory), socio-demographic variables (age, gender & education) & various political attitudes as independent variables, & applying such model over a rather long period of time. This, in order to see if & how the capability of this model -- & of the three different sets of variables -- of explaining electoral behavior has changed over time. We have applied such a model to the national elections of 1968, 1972, 1983, 2001 & 2006, using logistic regressions with vote dichotomized into Center-left vs. Center-right parties. The results show clearly the existence of a rather true gap between the elections of 1968, 1972, 1983 & the election of 2001 & 2006: the ability of the model to correctly predict voting outcome & the general fitting of the model sharply declined between these two groups of elections. In 2001 & in 2006 the variables that we can define as "socio-structural" for their link to social cleavages or to basic socio-demographic characteristics, seem to be almost completely irrelevant for the purpose of understanding-explain electoral behavior in Italy. We do not know how much of the different explanatory ability within the very same model for the years '70-'80, & at present, is due to the transformation of the political system (also as a consequence of the new electoral legislation), or if caused by a real process that makes collective identity grow significantly weaker, thus favoring the individualization of politics & electoral behavior. Whichever be the answer to this question, the fact is that today, sociological variables seem to be unable to explain voting behavior successfully in Italy. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

The post-Mao era inaugurated a stage of deep review of the role of Communist Party(CCP) in Chinese society: from "revolutionary party" (geming dang) into "ruling party" (geming dang). This entailed a revised approach consisting in new method of selecting & promoting party's officials by emphasising qualifications as expertise, managerial skills, aptitude for encouraging economic development rather than ideological & political faithfulness. This new strategy succeeded in reaching a consensus of the growing middle class about the main political goals of Chinese regime & consequently in dampening political & social opposition by digging a huge break in social body. With regard to this strategy of cooptation & social segmentation the Jiang Zemin's theory of "three representatives" is emblematic. Though this expression of openness & efficiency keeps being obsessively confirmed in official speeches & in legislation the exercise of freedom in China is far from being guaranteed. The approach of managing power of past regime is still "in office" & rigorously practised in order to control the frequent turmoil of peasants. Likewise frequent initiatives of intellectuals who claim the authorities deny the people their rights are severely repressed. Nevertheless the sharp-eyed party's control on community does not prevent some expectations of change from being fulfilled. Greater & greater groups of intellectuals, lawyers, journalists are resorting to state legislation to get the basic rights recognised and, for this purpose, they don't hesitate to deliver any sort of information to Internet in order to smooth the authorities' reaction. These actions offer a glimmer of hope in Chinese scenario. Adapted from the source document.