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LIST OF FIGURES ix
LIST OF TABLES x
LIST OF BOXES xi
PREFACE xiii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xix
1 The Italian Polity and its Long-Term Transformations 1
Overview 1
From the pluralism of regional states to a centralized state to a new tentative federal model 2
Democratization with interruptions and new reforms 14
Italy on the international scene 27
Conclusion 31
2 The Republic of Parties: From Deadlock to Bipolar Alternation 35
Overview 35
From a delayed start to a strong partitocrazia 36
The crisis of the first republic and the first steps of a new party system 48
The new party system after the crisis 52
Conclusion 64
3 Electoral Systems and Elections: Between Unfinished Reforms and a Fairly Stable Electorate 67
Overview 67
The electoral regime of the Italian republic 68
Building a 'quasi-majoritarian' electoral environment: the reforms of the 1990's 73
Patterns of voting behaviour in Italy: from the age of partitocrazia to the age of bipolarism 80
The return of PR within a 'bipolar environment': the 2005 reform and the 2006 election 91
Conclusion 99
4 The Executive: A Long Tradition of Weak and Unstable Governments Comes to an End? 103
Overview 103
The original institutional design 104
The head of state 105
The development of the executive: composition and structure 110
The executive at work 123
Conclusion 134
5 The Parliament: A Case of Continuous Institutional Adaptation 137
Overview 137
The parliamentary model in Italy: earliest experiences and the
1948 constitution 138
The consolidation of parliament in the age of full democratization: myths and realities 147
Parliamentary processes and functions in the twenty-first century 152
Profiles, attitudes, and careers of Italian legislators 162
Conclusion: between incremental changes and a 'permanent claim for reforms'? 167
6 Local Government: The Long-Term Path towards a Federal System 171
Overview 171
The traditional fragmentation of the Italian state and the constitutional compromise 172
The second step of regionalism after 1970: limits and outcomes 182
Sub-national governance after 1990: how many steps forwards? 186
Conclusion 194
7 Bureaucracy and Regulatory Bodies: From Immobility to Permanent Reforms 202
Overview 202
The historical model and its legacies 204
The republican model of public administration 206
The new administrative system amid innovation and resistance 216
Conclusion: the condition of the Italian state at the beginning of the twenty-first century 227
8 Judicial Power: An Unresolved Conflict with Politics 232
Overview 232
Historical background 233
The bill of rights 235
Organization of the judiciary 236
The Constitutional Court 246
Conclusion 251
9 Conclusion 255
REFERENCES 262
INDEX 271