Suchergebnisse

SINCE 1989 THE NATURE OF OPPOSITION IN SEVERAL WESTERN democracies has been subject to change, and Italy is no exception. But the Italian case is distinct because the changes which occurred in Italy after 1989 amount to a revolution compared to the traditional political equilibrium. The Italian political scene was dominated, from the post-war years (1948) to the 199Os, by two political parties: the DC (Christian Democracy) and the PCI (Italian Communist Party), which respectively occupied the positions of ruling party and opposition party for over forty years.

Economic, cultural, & political factors that contributed to the downfall of Italy's Christian Democratic Party & Communist Party during the 1990s & emergence of the political parties that comprise Italy's Northern League during the same period are studied. Noting the prevalence of Catholic & communist ideologies in northern Italy, differences in the territorial political subcultures of this region are discussed, eg, whereas Catholic cultures emphasize social participation, the communist cultures value political activity. Analysis of electoral trends for the Christian Democratic Party & Communist Party, 1946-1992, demonstrates that communist regions did not experience administrative redefinition. It is contended that the economic development of the Catholic rural regions during the 1990s is responsible for these regions' political instability. The notion of transaction costs is used to explain current differences in the Catholic & communist political regions. 4 Tables, 2 Figures, 2 Maps. J. W. Parker