Italy's interaction with the European project, from the First to the Second Republic: Continuity and change

In: Comparative European politics, Band 11, Heft 3

Abstract

The chapter addresses the question of the discontinuity and continuity in Italian discourse about European integration after WW2. On the one hand, discontinuity is shown by the changing approach to EU by Mr S. Berlusconi (three times Prime Minister from 1994 to 2011) and the leaders of the ruling centre-right coalitions of the 2nd Italian Republic starting in 1992 as well as by the effects of the economic crisis in underpinning populism. On the other hand, by a historical institutionalist approach, the author stresses that the weight of the anti-fascist origins of the Europeanist streams, the rich cultural heritage and the lack of any practical nationalist alternative explain the comparatively high rate of continuity in Italian support for EU integration. Adapted from the source document.