This book offers a history of contemporary Italy from the collapse of Mussolini to the present, placing this major Euro-Mediterranean country in a wider geo-political perspective. It examines how Italian history and politics developed in relation to - and were shaped by - the international context, from the Cold War and NATO to the European integration process and the global challenges of 1989. Umberto Gentiloni Silveri highlights all major events, structural limits, contradictions and conflicts influencing Italian democracy and the political system until today. He explores the continuous tension between 'stabilization' and 'conflict', between the promise of an innovative and evolutionary representative democracy on the one hand and the constraints of a political system conditioned by structural limits and old contradictions on the other.

This book offers a history of contemporary Italy from the collapse of Mussolini to the present, placing this major Euro-Mediterranean country in a wider geo-political perspective. It examines how Italian history and politics developed in relation to - and were shaped by - the international context, from the Cold War and NATO to the European integration process and the global challenges of 1989. Umberto Gentiloni Silveri highlights all major events, structural limits, contradictions and conflicts influencing Italian democracy and the political system until today. He explores the continuous tension between 'stabilization' and 'conflict', between the promise of an innovative and evolutionary representative democracy on the one hand and the constraints of a political system conditioned by structural limits and old contradictions on the other. Umberto Gentiloni Silveri is Full Professor of Contemporary History at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

From Roman times (when Jews first formed communities in Italy) throughout the 19th century (when Jews became emancipated individually but were deprived - as a group - of all their ancient autonomies), Jews remained tied to their separate judicial institutions. Administratively, Jewish communities sought control over their internal affairs (worship, charity, social welfare, schools, education, and their own communal rules) (administrative autonomy). Judicially, they sought recognition of their internal laws as applicable to their civic relations (regulatory autonomy), constantly striving to obtain from the State the authority to bring their community members to trial in their courts of law (judiciary autonomy).

The World Today Series: Western Europe is an annually updated presentation of each sovereign country in Western Europe, past and present. It is organized by individual chapters for each country expertly covering the region’s geography, people, history, political system, constitution, parliament, parties, political leaders and elections. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors and students. Now in its 37th edition, the content is thorough yet perfect for a one-semester introductory course or general library reference. Available in both print and e-book formats and priced low to fit student budgets.

On the Edge of Democracy examines the emergence of democracy in Italy in the wake of World War Two. It examines the nature of the democracy forged in the liminal period after Benito Mussolini, the Duce of Fascism, was removed from government in the summer of 1943. Instead of pouring through institutional accounts, which root the origins of democracy in the establishment of parties and in electoral outcomes, Forlenza focuses on the lived experiences of ordinary people and elites in extraordinary times. Meanings of democracy are not variations of a universal model but emerge as contingent interpretative acts and a symbolization following political and existential crisis under condition of violence and war. On the Edge of Democracy captures a series of key events which saw people torn between going home or staying at the front, between clinging to a disrespected but habitual monarchy or engaging with a republican experiment. Becoming a democracy was also a kind of politically spiritual act: the power of the myth of America and the struggle for order as a function of the cosmic fight between communism and ant-communism in the incipient Cold War had a formative power on the origins, meanings, and characters of post-fascist democracy in Italy.

Comedy in Crises provides a novel contribution to an emerging comedy studies field, offering a fresh approach and understanding toward both the motivation and reception of humour in diverse contemporary art contexts. Drawing together research by artists, theorists, curators, and historians from around the world (from Palestine, to Greece, Brazil, and Indigenous Australia), it provides new insight into how humour is weaponised in contemporary art – focusing on its role in negotiating complex cultural identities, the expectations of art markets, the impact of historical legacies, as well as its role in bolstering cultural resilience. In so doing, this book explores a vital, yet under-explored, aspect of contemporary art. Over the last decade, we have witnessed an overwhelming emphasis on experiences of precarity and emergency in contemporary art discourse, reflecting a popular view that the decade following the outbreak of the global financial crisis has been marked by an intersection of constant crises (refugee crisis, sovereign debt crisis, environmental disaster, COVID). Comedy in Crises offers innovative analysis of the relationship between this context and the growing use of humour by artists from around the world, making clear the vital role of laughter in mediating the collective trauma that takes shape today in a period of protracted crisis.

In early 2020 Italy was a country whose political parties stood as significant obstacles in the way of resolution of its social and economic problems. The purpose of this book is to help the reader to understand how Italian politics had reached this point. It does this by tracing the most significant processes of political, economic and social change to have marked Italian history in recent years back to their roots in the Italian political system as it emerged at the end of the Second World War. Starting with the restoration of democracy, the volume discusses the post-war party system and how it came under increasing pressure from the mid-1970s. From there it discusses the political upheavals of the early 1990s and the transformations they led to, the rise and fall of Silvio Berlusconi, and the watershed election of 2018. In short, the book provides a narrative. Narratives tell us who we are, where we have come from, where we are now and where we are going. Without them, we cannot make sense of the world. At the end of this narrative, if it has done its job properly, Italian politics and current affairs should ‘make sense’ if before they seemed confusing.