A Brookings Institution Press and Scuola Superiore della Pubblica Amministrazione (SSPA) publication Federiga Bindi provides, for the first time, an in-depth analysis of Italy's role within the European Union (EU) in this inaugural volume of a book series published jointly by the Brookings Institution Press and the Scuola Superiore della Pubblica Amministrazione (Italian National School of Public Administration, or SSPA). Italy and the European Union relates in detail the historical, cultural, and sociological factors that have led to Italy's incomplete "Europeanization," or full integration, within the EU. It also brings the reader up-to-date on the steps taken by the country's leaders to improve Italy's standing and become a more effective member in the organization it helped to found. Discussing the author's extensive research, The Economist notes.... "Federiga Bindi identified a number of barriers to an effective European policy in Italy: a high turnover of governments; coalition partners with conflicting aims; the failure of bureaucrats to learn from other member states; and politicians' lack of interest in Europe... recently however, she found that matters had improved. An interdepartmental body for the coordination of EU policies has been created, Parliament operates an effective scrutiny system..., the administration has learnt to learn from others. But the other problems remain, and they are formidable. Her study ends on an exasperated note: 'Italy appears to be stuck in the age of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, in which the victory of one faction over another is what counts, and the fact that this may be damaging to the country matters little.'" —from The Economist, July 31, 2010

Offers a comprehensive study of Italy's role in the European Union, as well as the country's relations with the EU and other EU members. Original.

Based on an analytical evaluation of both the weaknesses and strengths of the Italian political system, Italy in the European Union is the first book to offer a detailed and comprehensive description of Italy's contribution to European Union policy-making. The contributors to this volume systematically explore the role played by Italian institutional and noninstitutional actors in several decision-making processes. They show how Italian institutional actors define and promote national policy preferences that are compatible with those of the other European member states. However, the book functions on two levels: it is both a nuanced picture of Italy's role in the EU and a study of the EU as it has been transformed by subsequent waves of enlargement. In a compound polity of twenty-seven member states the formation of stable hegemonic coalitions is implausible--the concept of national interest, which still informs much of the literature on the EU, is logically and empirically unusable in many EU policy realms. Combining empirical investigation and theoretical analysis, this book is indispensable for scholars, students, and practitioners who study or observe Italian politics. It is also necessary for those who want to understand the transformation of European politics and the European Union's increasing development as a compound polity. Contributions by: Marco Brunazzo, Maurizio Carbone, Sabrina Cavatorto, Vincent Della Sala, Alessia Don , Sergio Fabbrini, Paolo Foradori, Giorgio Giraudi, Renata Lizzi, Simona Piattoni, Paolo Rosa, Stefano Sacchi, Alberta M. Sbragia, Daniela Sicurelli, and Luca Verzichelli

This book examines the impact of Europeanization on the domestic politics of EU member states, focussing on agricultural policy, cohesion policy and employment policy with a detailed comparative case study on Italy. Though a founding member, Italy has often had an uneasy relationship with the EU and found it difficult to be influential in EU politics and to comply effectively with EU policies and institutional pressures. The main focus of this book is the analysis of Italy-EU relationship from a policy-based perspective, adopting the conceptual lenses developed by Europeanization research. By looking at the evolution of agricultural, regional cohesion and employment policy the book shows how the politics of adaptation have brought Italy closer to Europe in the past twenty years and further highlights the impact of the EU-Italy relationship on domestic institutions and politics. The author explains that even though Italy has increasingly learned to respect EU membership requirements, its influence over agenda setting within the EU remains limited. Europeanization and Domestic Policy Change will be of interest to students and scholars of European Politics, Europeanization, comparative politics and Italian politics.

"At the end of the Second World War in 1945, which brought on a new Italian State, Italy's Foreign policy was first and foremost that of re-joining the new order of western alliances and playing a role in the re-building of a new Europe different from that which had brought war and conflict. The book "Italy and the European Union: A Rollercoaster Journey" seeks to bring to English language readers the manner in which Italy directed, approached and implemented its vision toward the new Europe. New visions and proposals emerged through champions such as Altiero Spinelli, Alcide De Gasperi, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet. It was meant to be a new European journey, which would seek to put war and conflict behind it. Being an original member of the Coal and Steel Authority established in the early 1950s, Italy sought to become a player in the direction of European integration. However, it did so with significant distractions and hurdles-at times as a bystander and at other times as a prominent player. The presence of Franco-German leadership was in the first instance a vision but for Italy at times contentious. Equally, Italy was afflicted by its internal distractions and priorities, which were at times a threat to its stability and to its political institutions. At times Italy made significant contributions to the direction of the European journey much of which under the constant eye of ideological tensions in country. It was the country with the largest Communist Party in Western Europe within a bi-polar Cold War arrangement, which remained a constant source of suspicion and concern. From being a Europhile member state in the 1990s to one where Euroscepticism appears regularly, Italy remains ambivalent about its relationship with the European Union depending on the political party in government. This book seeks to provide the story on how and why these changing perceptions of the European Union occurred and what possible avenues awaits this country on its rollercoaster journey with the European Union"--

As a medium-sized power in strategic proximity to east central Europe, Italy has sought a special role in the region following the collapse of Communist regimes there. Building on historical traditions and cultural affinities, Italy has drawn on its newly acquired economic power and important position within the European Union to develop an "Eastern" policy, for example, as originator of the Pentagonale project for regional cooperation. As a result, Italy has often been perceived by east central Europeans as a key country in their efforts to become more closely integrated with western Europe. More recently, however, both ethnic strife in the region and the collapse of Italy's own political establishment have cast doubt on the country's ability to play the role that many east central Europeans as well as Italians hope it can assume in the future European order. In this timely volume, leading European and U.S. experts examine the multifaceted dimensions of what has been in many ways a unique relationship in contemporary Europe.